


Destiny Bond

by kaientai



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Attempt at Humor, Blood Poisoning, F/M, Mega Evolution, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Weddings, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-11-16 12:28:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11253195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaientai/pseuds/kaientai
Summary: Soulmate bonds have always been a hoax to you, until a trusty countdown timer manifests on your skin to prove you wrong. Youaccidentallydo as the traditions say: touch the timer and get a glimpse of your soulmate.If your soulmate wears purple eyeshadow, he can't bethatbad, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This used to be entitled, "Time's Up" but I thought that "Destiny Bond" would make a better title. So with that cleared up, here it is. Happy reading!

When your Salamence lands on Lance’s lawn in Celadon City, you pet his head affectionately before putting him back in his ball. Your eyes scan the surrounding area and the garden’s pristine condition makes you quite skeptical that you have the right address. There is no way Lance would be able to shape multiple Dratini topiaries and maintain them without there being some sort of life-threatening accident. Maybe Erika, the resident grass type gym leader, helps him sometimes. But when you catch sight of the humble white bungalow that he calls home, you decide to overlook his suspiciously nice front lawn.

The house looks new, but the wooden steps leading to the front porch creak under your weight. On his doorstep is a little Poochyena sleeping soundly on a doormat. However, when you take another step forward, its eyes snap open and then the little guy’s barking at you.

You chuckle before grabbing a small canister of Pokémon food you keep in the pocket of your tattered jeans. The Poochyena immediately silences its cries when you present him with the delectable treat. There’s still a hint of apprehension in his little footsteps as he approaches you, but when you scratch the back of his ear, he’s immediately on his back, begging for a belly rub.

The door to Lance's home squeaks when it opens, and in front of you is a very disheveled Indigo League Champion. He’s dressed like he normally is, cape and all, but he looks like he just rolled out of bed with the bleary look in his eyes and the evident cowlick in his carmine hair. He seems to rouse from his drowsiness when he realizes who’s at his doorstep.

“I thought you said you’ll arrive tomorrow,” he says with thinly veiled surprise.

You give Poochyena’s belly a quick rub and you manage to garner a rather adorable reaction. A quick laugh escapes your lips before you look back up at Lance. “I got impatient and ditched my S.S Ticket. I had Salamence fly me over.”

“All the way from _Sinnoh_?”

You place a hand on your chest, feigning offense. “If you’re thinking that I overworked my precious Pokémon, I didn’t. I made him stop over some islands we could find across the sea every half hour or so.”

“Dragon abuser.”

You laugh before scooping up Lance’s Poochyena in your hands. Holding him up in front of you, you coo, "You’re so _cute_ , unlike your trainer who accuses me of unjustly treating my dragons.” You turn to Lance. “When did you decide to get this little guy, anyway?”

He sighs before patting his hair down. “Dealt with some troublemaking thugs in Hoenn, and one of them just abandoned him when I was done with them.”

A pout graces your lips and you proceed baby-talking the Poochyena. “Aww, the little baby just got left by his trainer? That person must’ve been terrible! But you just landed into a worse place, buddy. See, Lance won’t even let you inside his house!"

Lance crosses his arms and gives you a dirty look. “He happens to like it out here, okay? Are you going to keep babying my Pooch or are you actually going to come in?”

You raise your hands in surrender before leaving the whole canister of Pokémon food with Poochyena. You trail behind Lance as he leads you into his new home for the first time.

Strangely, his house smells faintly like a familiar disinfectant and before you could ask Lance about it, he's already striding off to what you presume is his kitchen. You take the time to study the area, and you're actually quite impressed with the interior of the living room. It’s not anything too grand, but the décor certainly radiates a cozy feel. There isn't much furniture—only a TV, a battered sofa, a coffee table, a houseplant, and some pictures mounted on the walls. You decide to walk over to the wall and let your eyes glaze over the frames. When you see a certain portrait of Lance, Clair, and yourself getting your first Dratinis as kids, you suddenly realize how much you’ve missed home.

Lance emerges from the kitchen with two glasses of milk, which he places on the coffee table. He takes a seat on his sofa, beckoning you to do the same.

“Don’t you have coffee?” you complain, as you sit beside him. 

Lance's face sours. “Why does everyone like that bitter concoction? It only takes slumber away from you.”

You giggle before taking the other glass. “Why do you have a coffee table if you don’t like coffee?”

“I hereby name it the milk table.”

“Milk table, it is.”

The conversation that follows is something that you expected. How was Sinnoh? Any good dragons over there? Are the Legendary Pokémon being manipulated by a band of scheming criminals? The topics don’t really deviate from that, but that’s until Lance decides to bring up Red.

You frown. “Isn’t he holed up in Mount Silver?”

He laughs and finishes his drink. “You’re very outdated. Blue managed to coax Red down the mountain and they’re traveling now. They’re even getting married soon.”

_“What?”_

Lance produces an envelope from the pocket of his pants. You reach for it and place your milk on the table to take a closer look. From the feel of the envelope alone you can tell that it’s made of some good material. You take the time to sniff the envelope and, yep, it's scented (Lance rolls his eyes at that). The single card inside has a message written in a very elegant handwriting. Your eyes glaze over the invitation for a while—well, not really. You’re only skimming through the important details, those being: wedding, three reserved seats, Alola Region, Hotel, and a reception with guaranteed alcohol. With a pompous chortle leaving your lips, you place the card inside its envelope and set it on Lance’s milk table. You grab your friend by his shoulders to shake him violently.

“Dude, that’s so cool. They’re getting married? What the fuck? Dialga must’ve slowed time down at Sinnoh. When did _that_ happen?”

Prying your hands off him, Lance hums in contemplation. “Well, Red came down the mountain around the time you left for Sinnoh. They immediately packed up and traveled wherever. I haven't heard from them until two weeks ago. Daisy dropped by and gave me the invitation.”

You can’t help but smile. When Red’s journey began, you’ve been aimlessly loitering all over Kanto looking for new Trainers to challenge. He's practically one of the few trainers that you clearly remember since he's really the first one that beat you down in record time. Seeing him actually giving himself a break from Pokémon, even settling down with his rival, of all people, just makes your heart warm.

“So when are we leaving?” you ask almost too excitedly.

“You don’t have anything to do?”

You snort. “I’m the resident wandering dragon master. If I’ve got anything to do, it’s wandering, and that’s exactly what we’re gonna do wherever we’re going. Do _you_ have anything to do, champ?”

Again, he rolls his eyes. “Not really. My challenger count depleted recently.”

“Both in Kanto and Johto?”

“Yeah. Clair’s been really tough to beat, so no one’s getting into the League from Johto yet. Meanwhile, in Kanto, we’re still sorting out who we’re going to appoint as the eighth gym leader, since Blue’s been traveling the world with Red.”

“Is it that hard to find a new leader, though? Why not just let Giovanni handle the gym leader gig again?”

“Are you insane? Red went all the way with pulverizing Team Rocket and you’re suggesting to just put their boss back in the Viridian Gym?”

You shrug. “Everyone deserves second chances.”

Lance laughs and ruffles your hair. “You are seriously the oddest one out of the whole clan. Traveling has thawed out your frozen heart, huh?”

You feign ignorance, but a lopsided smile presents itself on your lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know what they say about us dragon specialists.”

“I actually don’t. Pray tell.”

“Our dragons are weak to ice, but our hearts are carved from glaciers.”

You gasp. “That is _not_ true. Have you seen how much I spoil my Dragonite?”

“Yup. She’s rotten. Now, since you’re conveniently here anyway, could you do me a favor and tell Clair that we’ll leave tomorrow for Alola? We’ll be staying for a week. Also, tell her to pack summer clothes—same goes for you. Aaaand I’ll be waiting at the Olivine Harbor.”

“Oh, boo. Why don’t you do it yourself? You’re in gear and everything.”

Lance gets up and starts stalking over to his room. Stifling a yawn, he looks back at you. “You’re going home to Blackthorn City anyway, right? It’s less work. Plus, I’m sleepy.”

“Why do you live all the way in Celadon again?”

“They sell nice capes,” he says with a lazy tone before shutting the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

When you knock on Clair's door, her first reaction is surprise, and the next is an undeniable dislike. There are reasons why you're not fond of paying Clair visits when Lance isn't with you. But what you loathe the most is the fact that her glare goes with her eyeliner so well, you wonder how anyone could look that good while glowering at you. 

But you manage to remain discreet and still passed on what information Lance wanted her to know.

“And that’s why I’m here to inform you that the three of us will be heading over to Alola tomorrow."

“No.”

You sigh with more than a little exasperation. “Why not? I think both of you deserve a break from your responsibilities every once in a while.”

Clair shoots you a poisonous glare. “Just because you don’t have a job doesn’t mean you can just drag us down to your lifestyle.”

“What the hell is your problem?” You stare at her incredulously. “I told you Red and Blue invited us. We’re not exactly going on vacation to squander our time. We’re invited to a damn wedding.”

Clair still looks unconvinced and is staring you down like you’re the newest addition to Team Rocket’s grunts. You don’t even bother trying to stop the sigh that tears its way out of your lips.

Ever since all three of you were kids, where Lance has supported you in all your endeavors, Clair’s been sort of a thorn on your side –always engaging you in unnecessary battles; criticizing you when you said you won’t challenge any of the Gyms and find your own way to be acknowledged as a dragon master; criticizing you even more when you refused a place in the Elite Four, giving it to Lance instead; always glaring at you, like she is now. You’re still not sure why Clair treats you with this much hostility. When you flip through the pages of your memories, you don’t recall doing anything deliberately terrible that might have caused her to be so incredibly annoyed with your mere existence. But you’ve put it all behind you a long time ago. To you, Clair is still a childhood friend that helped mold who you are now. So with a few deep breaths, you clear your throat and face her again.

“We’re leaving tomorrow. Bring your summer clothes or whatever. Lance and I will be waiting at Olivine City.” You match her hard stare with your own, and when she huffs indignantly and nods, you take it as your cue to leave her house.

The afternoon sun is very much glaring at you with the same intensity as Clair did, and you’re still not used to the sudden shift in temperature. Sinnoh is much colder than Johto even in summer. So, you immediately sprinted back to your own little hut a few meters away. You produce a key from your pocket and open the door.

The musty scent that fills your senses somehow feels like home. It isn't much, really. Your only articles of furniture are a bed, a nightstand, a cabinet, a desk and aquamarine curtains, if those even count as furniture. There's one other door that leads to a small bathroom, and thinking about having to clean it since you've been gone for a long while makes you groan inwardly.

Light is still filtering from the drawn curtains, but the place indeed looks like no one inhabited it for a good while, which is exactly what happened. Your old place here in Blackthorn City isn’t big, but it’s really the only place you can call home. As a traveler, you never really consider buying properties when you go places, even if you can certainly afford to. Any other roof over your head just feels weird and wrong to stay in for more days than necessary. Most of the time, you crash at a Pokémon Center. Sentiments aside, you let out the Pokémon you have with yo—Dragonite, Salamence, and Eevee. Well, it’s not exactly all of them because you can’t really let Gyarados out where there’s no water and Charmeleon has a knack for burning things, so you walk over to your nightstand to stuff their Pokéballs in a drawer.

Eevee yips before running to you and jumping in your arms. She nuzzles your chest, purring as your hands run over her smooth fur. So far, she's the only oddity in your team, since she isn't and doesn't resemble a dragon. When Lance asked you about her, you simply told him you're waiting for Bill to discover a dragon type evolution for her. It seems like a pipe dream as of now, but you don't mind having an adorable Eevee around.

Dragonite stomps over to you, gently gives you a hug, and you laugh out loud. One of the many things that you love about your Dragonite is that she’s a hugger. Although, there’s one instance where you encountered a Cacturne and Dragonite made a mistake of showering it with hugs instead of attacking it. She had to stay a night in the Pokémon Center after that ordeal.

At the corner of your eye, you could see Salamence making his way towards your dusty bed, stomping around a little before finding a comfortable position to sleep in. Dragonite untangles her arms around you and proceeds to scold Salamence in Dragonese. You think she said something like ‘get off her bed’. Salamence cracks an eye at her but only makes a sound, which you interpreted as a ‘no’.

You roll your eyes before making your way to your desk. You set Eevee down on top of it as you fumble around the drawers. Her eyes are regarding you intently as you do. When you find your Pokégear, you whisper, “Yes!” before checking if it’s still functional.

It is, and you begin tuning into the Hoenn Sound on your radio. Salamence seems to like the tune a lot.

Your next plan of action is to pick out clothes for your weeklong trip, which is relatively easy since you’re used to wearing tank tops and shorts whenever you’re in Johto. You make sure to place a decent swimsuit inside the bag you’re using, along with a few more essentials like make-up and emergency medicine, which you have no idea whether they’re expired or not. Maybe you need to stop by a pharmacy. For the outfit you’ll be wearing to your wedding, you decide to just buy it wherever you’re going.

The soothing music from the radio gets interrupted by a phone call and Salamence snarls at your Pokégear. You chide him before running over to your desk. It’s Professor Oak.

Hastily, you take the call. “Hello?”

“Ah, (Name)! I heard from Lance that you’re back from your travels,” you hear the professor’s familiar voice at the other end of the line. “Are you informed with the wedding?”

“Um, yeah! Your grandson is getting married to Red, wow. I thought he was into chicks.” You laugh.

“Yes. Even I was surprised. But I’m beyond happy for Blue, of course. I’ll be there for the wedding. My grandson told me that the countdown timer never appeared on his wrist because all this time, he’s already known his soulmate since they were born!”

“You know I don’t believe in all that superstition, right Professor?”

“Of course you don’t. But isn’t it fascinating? I was amazed, myself, when the numbers started idly counting down a hundred and twenty hours before I could meet my soulmate.”

“I still don’t think that’s true.”

“That’s because it hasn’t happened to you yet. Just you wait, (Name). When the timer manifests, touch it and you will get a glimpse of who your soulmate is.” The chuckle he gives you at the end sounds a little playful. “But soulmates are not really the reason why I called.”

“Huh? What is it, then?”

Professor Oak clears his throat. “Well, have you ever been to the Alola region?”

You consider his question for a moment, and then you remember that’s where the venue for the wedding is going to be. “Nope. I’ve never even heard of it until Lance showed me the invitation today.”

“Does uncharted territory entice you?”

You snort. “Professor, do you think I’d be traveling as much as I already am if they don’t?”

He chuckles. “I suppose you have a point. I was wondering if I could task you with gathering data for me from the Alola region. Just stay there for a while, filling your Pokédex –do you still have it– with the variances in Alolan species and Kanto Pokémon. I’ve already sent some fielders there, of course, but I want to hear the thoughts of an expert.”

“Flatter me any more and I’ll start to think I’m actually an amazing person, Professor. But yeah, I still have my Dex. I was planning on heading to Unova to go catch a Deino, but I guess Alola works, too. Do they have nice dragon types?”

“Wait until you see their Exeggutor.”

“I am not sure whether or not I should be worried about that.”

“You will _adore_ the place. I promise. I have already introduced you to Professor Kukui. He will be showing you the ropes.”

“Oh, Professor, you know very well that I can weave the ropes myself if I couldn’t find them.”

“I take it that you’re agreeing to my request?”

Your Eevee suddenly jumps on your shoulder and mewls in your ear, as if urging you to say yes. You pat her head and make a sound of affirmation. “Can’t wait, Professor.”

“Marvelous, (Name). I’ll upgrade your Pokédex when we meet in Alola. Apparently, their Pokédexes there are powered by Rotoms.”

“Thanks, Professor. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll just be taking a long nap,” you sigh sheepishly.

“Of course! I can’t have my newest fielder lacking energy, now can I? You have my utmost thanks, (Name). I’ll make sure to arrange a gift for you.”

You want to tell him that he doesn’t have to give you any gifts, but you’re too exhausted to protest. So you simply thank him again before bidding a quick farewell. You place your Pokégear back on the desk and proceed playing a Sinnoh Sound, now. Salamence growls at your choice of music, but you only sneer at him before placing him back in a Pokéball. You can’t really share your small bed with a Pokémon as huge as him and not get pushed off. You make sure to put Dragonite back as well, placing their Pokéballs in the nightstand drawer.

With a tired exhale, you strip the sheets off your mattress and dust it off. When you’re done, you do the same to your pillow. Once you’ve fixed your bed again, you beckon for Eevee to jump onto the bed, and she does as expected. You unceremoniously plop yourself on top of it, relishing the timeless softness of your mattress. You allow yourself to lie there with your eyes closed for a few minutes, but give up eventually. You’re tired beyond comprehension, but sleep just won’t come.

When Eevee starts snoring softly beside your head, you instinctively check your wrist for the time. You realize that you don’t have your Pokétch anymore. But instead of the telltale numbers of a watch, there seem to be…..digital numbers on your skin? You squint and hold your wrist closer to your face. When you look at it more closely, it seems to be counting down. There are only three columns, each of them labeled Hours, Minutes, and Seconds respectively.

 

**119:59:28**

 

You resort to blinking your eyes a couple of times, trying to make sure that you’re not hallucinating from your exhaustion, but they’re still there—the numbers winking at you like Celadon City’s neon signs at night. Suddenly, you hear Professor Oak’s teasing words in your mind. You shake your head. You refuse to regard the stupid soul bond that everyone across the world keeps blabbering about. You refuse to accept that these blasted numbers appeared right after you just adamantly told Professor Oak off about it. The countdown timers are just some make-believe story parents use to tell their kids so they’d avoid getting into relationships early.

 

**119:58:51**

 

A little irritated now, you try scraping it off like how you’d remove a smudge of ink. But when the skin of your other hand comes into contact with the countdown on your wrist, a surge of electricity suddenly racks your body, as if you’ve been hit by Dragonite’s Thunder with the voltage cranked up to a thousand. You could’ve sworn the intensity made you pass out, but when you open your eyes again, you’re no longer in your quaint house in Blackthorn City.

The scene in front of you seems dream-like. There are dozens of still projections of a person with white hair and a blurred out face. You realize it’s like you’re seeing this through a kaleidoscopic view. The hues are all mostly monochromic; the only evidences of color you can comprehend are slivers of purple smeared across the spots where the person’s eyelids should be. Slowly, the image starts to enhance. The person comes into focus, and color begins to paint them into life. You see yellow sunglasses, a conceited smirk, steely gray eyes, purple eye shadow–

You wake up to Eevee caressing your face with a small paw, mewling with concern. You groan as you prop yourself on your elbows. Glancing at the window by your bed, you realize that night has already fallen. Eevee climbs up to your lap and stares at you, confused.

You feel like you’ve undergone electroshock therapy more than once, and you think that the funny feeling in your brain is the equivalent of dumping it in a deep fryer. As you breathe deeply, you force the nausea that’s crawling up your throat to stay down. But the urge to throw up what little there is in your stomach is stronger than your willpower, so you bolt towards your bathroom. Not caring that the floor is dusty or that the lights are off, you kneel and regurgitate the contents of your stomach into the toilet bowl. The sounds you make are beyond repulsive, and you’re suddenly glad you live alone.

When you finish wringing out your guts, you collapse onto the tiled floor. Breathing is extremely painful right now, but you’re taking in oxygen in deep breaths like there’s no tomorrow. In the haze of your agony, you could hear Eevee crying out in alarm. The next thing you know, she’s nuzzling your face, mewling in concern. You decide to scoop her in your arms and anchor yourself to the softness of her coat. It takes a while for you to think straight again, but when you do, you stroke Eevee absentmindedly as you hold up your wrist 

 

**114:29:37**

 

You groan. The vision of that stranger’s face seemed to last for only five seconds, yet, from the looks of it, you’ve been out cold for five hours. You allow yourself to bask in the unbelievable truth served in front of you for a long while, making yourself recover from the shock from earlier in the process. The only force interrupting your reverie is an annoying ringing sound inside your brain. When it goes on continuously, you realize your Pokégear is ringing again. You stand up too quickly, and suddenly you’re in it for another round of How Much Stomach Acid Can I Throw Up in One Day? Eevee is burying her head in your chest, as if she’s frightened, and you force yourself to get it together so your precious Pokémon won’t have to worry about you anymore.

Slowly, you tread out of the bathroom to answer the call, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

“H-Hello?”

“Hey, (Name)!” Lance’s cheery voice greets you.

You cough a little. “What’s up?”

“I felt a little lonely and decided that I’ll come over for dinner. I have Kantonese,” he says that last part with a bit more enticement, since he’s well aware of how much you adore Kantonese food. But the idea of inducing anything solid at the moment sounds like an extremely bad idea 

“Uh, s-sure, Lance.”

“You okay? You sound dead.”

You sigh. Out of all relatives and friends your age, Lance is the only one who’s experienced this soul bond thing. But even when he animatedly told you about his fear-inducing experience when he touched his countdown timer, you still didn’t believe in it. Now, you regret all the years you’ve spent living as a stubborn heathen.

“I’m not okay, actually…" 

“Oh, man. Are you good for tomorrow?”

“Y-Yeah. I’ll be fine tomorrow, I bet. But there’s something I wanted to talk to you about… 

“Sure. What is it?”

“….Can you tell me more about soulmates?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *starts another school year literally tomorrow*  
> Also me: *impulse writes another guzma fic*
> 
> Hi there. Im well aware that there's still Spectre to work on, but I'm going back to school tomorrow and I wanted to put this up. The soulmates trope is super interesting and I've had a lot of AUs to choose from but I chose the countdown to when you meet your soulmate AU, with my own little twist. Like all impulse-written fics, this still doesn't have a solid plot soooo insights of any kind are appreciated <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I changed the title. This used to be "Time's Up" but that's just lame so I came up with "Destiny Bond" hurrah! Anyway, you're still not going to meet your soulmate here lmfao. The chapter will become too painstakingly long if I add the events that transpire before, during and after Red and Blue's wedding. So, here's a bit more foundation-building!

"Attention to all passengers. S.S Anne will be arriving in Akala Island of the Alola Region in thirty minutes. Please use this time to secure all of your belongings and make sure that you will not leave anything behind in your cabins. Lunch will also be available at the mess hall in the lower deck. I repeat, S.S Anne will be arriving in Akala Island in thirty minutes. Thank you for choosing Olivine Transit for your mode of travel."

Upon hearing the smooth, feminine voice through the intercom, you set down your copy of Whispers of the Soul on your bed. When you stand up to stretch out your cramping muscles, a satisfied sigh leaves your lips as you get your blood circulating more freely again. Laying around for twelve hours definitely numbed the feeling in your legs. 

You shoot your companions a sideways glance. Clair is sitting at the edge of her bed, talking to someone on her Pokégear, and you wonder how it's still functional this far away from Johto. Her voice is hushed, and even if you strain your ears, you can't completely understand any word she's saying. But her tone sounds a bit sharper than the one she normally used on you. Lance, on the other hand, is still lying on his stomach, sprawled across his bed. When you look at his face, a thin line of drool is peeking from a sliver in his ajar mouth. Soft snores are filling the room, and he looks so at peace, you're quite reluctant to kick him off the bed and yell at him to fix his mess. His cape is on the floor along with his scattered Pokéballs. There are wrappers of menthol candy hastily thrown on his bed and there's even one sticking to the side of his face. The poor guy slept his seasickness off. 

You heave a content exhale when you hear a soft crunch upon cracking your knuckles. The fact that cracking knuckles isn't a good idea in the long run is known knowledge for you, but the satisfaction and the soft buzz of mild pain that comes with doing it entices you in a weird way. 

"Oh screw you!" Clair suddenly yells and you flinch in surprise. "I'm a gym leader and you're just an ex-member of the Elite Four. I have a really packed schedule, but when I propose to see you when I have free time, you don't even want to! I'm done, Lori. This—This just isn't gonna work out."

Without a semblance of a warning, she throws her Pokégear with the most anger you've seen her convey. The gadget bounces once with a dull sound on the carpeted floor, but that throw is undoubtedly strong enough to jam with its mechanical workings. Clair is the most physically able woman you've ever met. If she's already undoubtedly strong when she's in a good mood, thinking of the extent of her strength when pure rage is blinding her makes you shudder. Her face is reddening from her anger, and you're not sure whether or not you want to comfort her, considering the fact that you tend to trigger her rage more often than you like. 

Still. You've seen her with Lorelei enough times to piece together the fact that she really means a lot to Clair. Hearing her saying, "This just isn't gonna work out" may have struck your heartfelt concern.

Clair used to have an inexplicable penchant for getting in and out of relationships just as quickly as a Ditto would Transform. One of the few similarities you had with her was your skepticism with the whole soulmate shindig. (Although, with the appreance of your own timer yesterday, you finally became a believer and made sure never to question traditions ever again.) Despite that, when she met Lorelei a few years ago, even you knew their bond was aligned with the stars. Clair doesn't talk to you a lot, but you do know that her timer didn't appear before she met Lorelei. Regardless, the grief written on her face is pure evidence that someone's soul doesn't need to be woven into yours for you to love them whole and true. 

Your feel a dull pang in your chest upon seeing the first tears drip down her face. You know that she's aware that you're paying attention, but it seems that she's too caught up in her sadness to care. The desire to console her is beginning to become unbearable, but you're convinced that she'll just snarl and push you away.

But then you think of an idea.

You reach out for your bag on the floor to get one of your Pokéballs, making sure to do so as quietly as possible. Then, you release your Eevee.

"Eev...?" She cocks her head sideways, as if sensing that her release from her Pokéball is unplanned. You smile and pet her head.

"Clair is sad." You lower your voice into an almost inaudible whisper. "Could you try chering her up for me?" 

"Vee!" she yips happily in affirmation and nuzzles your hand. Doing as instructed, she hops of your bed and begins to pad towards Clair's bed at the other side of the cabin. She's in the middle of wiping her tears off her face, but she freezes when Eevee hops on her bed to climb on her lap. There's a bewildered look on her face and you could tell that she's debating whether or not she should be mad about the fluffy Pokémon comforting her. 

When she sighs in defeat and pets Eevee, a breath you aren't aware you were holding leaves your lips. She snaps her head to your direction, but instead of her usual, piercing glare, there's a warmth in her eyes that you're not familiar with.

"Thanks," Clair mouths before proceeding to gather your Pokémon into her arms to bury her face in Eevee's coat. You're suddenly glad that you gave her another bath before leaving.

You laugh before settling back down on your own bed. Whispers of the Soul is still lying on it, and you suddenly recall the information Lance filled you in on last night. 

The countdown timers are a really simple concept: they'll appear on your wrist one-hundred twenty hours—five days—before you meet your soulmate. When you touch it once, you'll get some sort of fuzzy vision of your soulmate. It's not enough for you to get a grasp of their wholesome appearance, but it's enough to tease the seams of your mind. However, the phenomenon only occurs once. When you try touching your timer after you've already been granted a glimpse, nothing will happen. When you _do_ meet your soulmate for the first time, you'll feel a sensation in your chest that's a little uncomfortable, but it'll feel like you've woken up on the right side of the bed on a particularly sunny morning—at least, that's how Lance narrated it.

Those are only the basic rules. Lance told you that everyone deals with the soul bond differently, and that there are a lot of variations to everyone's experiences. Last night, you were all about knowing how to navigate your life now that this bond was placed on you, but you were even more curious about something else...

"Who's your soulmate?" you asked with confident interest.

His cheeks turned as pink as his hair, as he nervously stirred his chopsticks around his box of stir-fry noodles "I-I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ , I. Don't. Know." 

You snorted. "Quit screwing around with me, Lance."

"I-I'm really not! But I have two people who might be candidates..."

A boisterous fit of laughter coming from you filled the walls of your house. When you finished making fun of his demise, you propped your chin on your hands. "We've got all night for you to tell me about it."

He groaned before placing his take-out box on your nightstand. "Well, I met them in the congregation of champions, for starters."

"Ooooh. Your possible significant others are champions, too."

"Sh-Shut up! Anyway, I felt that blooming feeling in my chest when Wallace introduced me to Cynthia and Diantha. I couldn't tell who the feelings are directed to. The vision I got wasn't as detailed as yours. All I know is that my soulmate is a she. When I shook both their hands, it was just—fireworks," he made a funny gesture imitating exploding fireworks with his hands. 

After a few more minutes of teasing, Lance handed you two metal cuffs. 

"What are these for?" you cocked your head in confusion, but accepted his gift. 

"If you don't want to see the timer, just put those on. The numbers won't break through a completely solid surface. It'll take your mind off it for a while."

You slid on the accessories and they were long enough to obscure the taunting digits that were counting down to your demise. They were a perfect fit on your wrists, and even contrasted nicely against your skin. You're about to thank him again but then he hands you a book.

"This, too?" you asked while inspecting the book's leather. 'Whispers of the Soul' was embossed in moonlight silver on the front.

He only shrugged. "Something to help you out. Give it a read for the night."

When he bid you farewell and flew back to Celadon City, you cracked the book open and spent the whole night reading through various soul bond stories. The book was so diverse, it even had Professor Oak's and Professor Rowan's stories narrated on it.

The book really did give you a new outlook on the soul bonds. It answered a lot of your questions, but the one brimming at your curiosity is: what will happen when your soulmate dies?

Before you could reflect further on it, Lance begins to stir in his bed, mumbling to himself. As usual, his hair is a mess and he's wiping off the drool that accumulated on the hollow spot near his collarbones. 

"Gross," he mutters.

"Good afternoon, champ," you snicker. "Any nice dreams to share?"

Lance groans before sitting upright with a little difficulty. "I dreamt of a Kingdra repeatedly trying to drown me. This is why I never trained a Horsea."

"You have an inexplicable fear of Kingdras?" 

He shoots you a menacing glare before reaching for his cape. 

"Eev!" 

Your eyes flick to Clair and she's laughing while Eevee tries to nibble her long, blue hair. Any trace of the sniffling woman from earlier already vanished. 

Lance lets out an interested sound. "Huh. She's in a good mood. Is that your Eevee?"

You hum in affirmation before reaching out to your bag. You're quite proud of yourself because you managed to squeeze a week's worth of clothes inside a backpack. You unzip one of the compartments to fetch your Pokégear. Surprisingly, the signal's still pretty strong and your Pokégear has at least two out of three bars filled. You use the opportunity to phone Professor Oak.

"Hello, (Name)?"

"Hey, Professor," you chirp. "We're almost in Alola."

"Oh, my. You three are quite early. I haven't even picked out a suit yet!" he laughs. "The wedding is still on Saturday. Use that time to familiarize yourself with the region. If you're looking for Blue and Red, they're going to be somewhere at Poni Island. It might be a real opportunity to train your Pokémon, you know?"

"Will do."

"Where will you three be lodging, again?"

"Uh, I think Lance mentioned a hotel in some place called Heahea City? I dunno. I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh, you and your short attention span. If you _are_ staying in Heahea City, pay Miss Olivia a visit. She lives a few routes over in Konikoni City. She's the island kahuna."

Your brows furrow. "Uh, what's an island kahuna?"

"They're like the...gym leaders of each island. Sort of. But to make it precise, they oversee the way things are in their islands. If there are problems that demand immediate attention, it's the kahuna's job to deal with it."

"Alright. Pay Miss Olivia a visit. Anything else to add?"

He hums for a while before saying, "I forgot to mention it earlier but I have a cousin over there. His name is Samson, and if I could remember correctly, his base of operations is in Malie City. I have been coordinating with him regarding regional variants for a while now. If you have the time, you could head over there to have a word or two with him to help you in your research."

"How will I know it's him?"

The Professor chuckles like you've told him a funny joke. "You'll definitely know, (Name). Now I'd love to chat with you more, but I still have to head over to Goldenrod for my talk show. Enjoy Alola, (Name)!"

You end the call with a soft laugh and you place your Pokégear back inside your bag. When you look up, Lance's clutter is already gone and he's having a conversation with Clair, with the latter gently stroking Eevee's head. 

You walk over to them. "What's up?"

Lance moves over to make some space for you. "You were the one talking to Professor Oak. You tell us what's up."

When you sit on Lance's bed, you're a bit outraged with the fact that it's softer than yours, but you don't pay much mind to it. "Well, he's quite surprised we're going there early. But he just told me to visit this Olivia person in Konikoni City. Do you two have an idea where it is?" 

Clair shrugs. "Let's just get a map or whatever."

"All right. Anything else in particular you two want to do?"

"I'll catch a Jangmo-o and sleep," Clair says flatly.

"I'll challenge the Battle Tree," Lance responds with more enthusiasm. "We could do double battles if you want to, (Name)." 

You wave his offer away. "I haven't been training as profusely. I'll just go meet Professor Oak's cousin in Malie City after we drop by Konikoni City, and maybe train a little. I've been having the mind to make Charmeleon evolve." 

Lance shrugs. "Well, suit yourself."

You're about to retort, but the intercom begins ringing with a catchy tune.

"Attention all passengers. S.S Anne will be arriving in Akala Island in five minutes. Please secure all of your belongings and gather in the lobby for arrival. I repeat, S.S Anne will be arriving in Akala Island in five minutes. Again, thank you for choosing Olivine Transit as your mode of travel. Alola!"

 

* * *

 

"Here's your ride pager. Please enjoy your day!" The nice woman at the Pokémon Center greets you before handing over a green gadget—the ride pager. 

You bow your head and thank her before rushing out of the Center. You're not really in a hurry, but the rush of being in another region is slowly settling in your veins once more. But still. You weren't _this_ excited on your first day in Sinnoh.

The sun is up high and the sky is bluer than Clair's hair. There's something different about the coastline breeze here and the air in Olivine City, and you're pretty sure you like the change. You run over to your companions waiting at the side of the building. Lance is scratching his head, trying to make sense of a map he snagged at the ferry station, and Clair is playing with your Eevee. (The bond they've developed so quickly is making you a bit jealous.) And you're starting to appreciate their change in outfits.

Before heading here, all of you decided to change clothes that fit the temperature at the hotel you're staying at. Lance traded his usual black cape and slim fit body suit for sandals, khaki shorts, a black button-down with gray hibiscus patterns on it, and a cute, khaki explorer hat. Clair, on the other hand, is wearing slippers, denim shorts that showcased her long legs and a white v-neck. How they could look so good wearing minimal clothes is beyond you. You had to go with the sundress you're wearing right now along with a silver ringlet in your hair that matches your metal cuffs just to be on par with your companions in terms of outer appearance.

"From what I've gathered on this map here," Lance speaks up without tearing his gaze away from paper in his hands. "Konikoni City is just on the other side of the Diglett's Cave. Huh. I didn't think they'd have those here. But anyway," he folds the map before tucking it in his shirt pocket. "Let's get going. Caves are always crawling with Pokémon. Let's battle our way out!"

Clair scoops Eevee into her arms before sneering at Lance. "The reason why (Name) got us a ride pager is exactly that. We're going to avoid unnecessary battles. We're kind of on vacation, _remember_?" 

"B-But—"

"No buts," Clair speaks sharply at him and Lance abruptly shuts up. She turns to you. "So, are we going or are we going?"

"Uh yeah. Hold on a sec," you tell her as you begin putting the ten-minute tutorial on Poké Rides that the nurse in the Pokémon Center to good use. You select a Charizard Glider with a saddle for three people set off for Konikoni City. When you confirm your page, you smile to yourself.

"It'll be here in about five minutes," you inform them. "So did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Clair shrugs. "There was this one cute girl that passed by. She totally glared at me when I waved at her though. Too bad. Her neon hair was sorta hot."

"I want to battle someone," Lance sighs.

You laugh at that, slightly relieved that Clair is in one of those days where she chooses to be neutral and doesn't antagonize you. You have your Eevee to thank for that. A comforting hand is placed on Lance's shoulder as you tell him that you'll battle him when the three of you are safely in Konikoni City. This seems to make him very happy.

The Charizard Glider is on the dot when it arrives. It's a little bigger than Lance's Charizard, which makes sense since it has a three-seater saddle strapped across its back. Lance, ever the nerdiest dragon lover out of the three of you, approaches the Pokémon with obvious interest. You're about to warn him that the Charizard might not be as friendly as his own, but your protest evaporates when it nuzzles Lance affectionately.

"All dragons love him," Clair scoffs, and you silently agree.

The Charizard leans down a little to grant easier access for the three of you. Lance is in front, you're in the middle, and Clair is at the rear. When everything is secure, Lance caresses the dragon's neck soothingly and tells it to fly.

The journey only took about ten minutes. One moment, the Alolan breeze is cutting through your face. The next moment, you're safely on the ground. In front of you is a structure resembling one of those shrine archways in Ecruteak City. Further ahead is a cobblestone pathway lined with shops and various buildings on the side. 

Clair slides off the Charizard first and helps you on your feet. Lance pets it one last time before hopping to the ground. The Charizard looks at you expectantly, and you wonder why he hasn't taken off yet until you remember—

"Oh right!" you exclaim before fetching the container the nurse gave to you earlier from your sling bag. Inside is a variety of beans with different colors and patterns—Pokébeans, the nurse called them. You uncap the bottle and grab some red ones, thinking that a Fire type like Charizard would appreciate them. Upon seeing the beans, the Charizard lets out a gleeful sound and eats the Pokébeans from your hand. (You were a bit anxious about the possibility of it accidentally eating your hand, though.) When it finishes the treat, Charizard regards you warmly before shooting back up in the sky. 

Lance whistles. "That is so cool."

"You could say that again."

"I would but you owe me a battle." The determination in his voice is enough for you to get a little pumped, too.

Your mouth curls into a smirk. "Let's keep it interesting and make it a double battle."

"You're on!"

"I swear I'm the most mature out of the three of us," Clair mumbles.

You and Lance walk a few steps so the two of you would be on the opposite sides of an imaginary arena. Clair stands at the side, assuming the position of pseudo-referee. Eevee hops onto her shoulder and watches things unravel intently. Clair clears her throat before speaking. "The double battle between the champion Lance and the dragon tamer (Name) is about to begin! Contenders, choose your Pokémon!"

Lance makes the first move. "Aerodactyl, Dragonite!"

His two Pokémon let out their own lively battle cries. You smile before tossing your own Pokéballs in the air. "Charmeleon, Salamence, go!"

The battle is the most vigorous one you've ever had in a while. Despite Charmeleon's intense disadvantage over the Rock type Aerodactyl and the Dragon type Dragonite, you managed to pull through with barrages of Metal Claw and Flamethrower—even burning Aerodactyl at some point. Dealing with Dragonite using Salamence is not as easy as you expected, though. In terms of overall power, your Salamence could stand toe-to-toe with your own Dragonite, but Lance's Dragonite is no joke. It's undeniable that he's been the most responsible in raising his Pokémon out of the three of you, so it's no surprise when Salamence takes a critical hit from Dragonite's Dragon Rush. 

"Salamence, Dragonbreath!" you command, hoping that the weak attack might immobilize Dragonite for even just a moment.

It does.

"Aerodactyl, Supersonic!" 

"Dodge it and use Inferno, Charmeleon! Salamence, Fire Blast!"

If you are a lesser Trainer, those Fire type attacks wouldn't even scratch Aerodactyl, but with the combined force of your Pokémon's attacks, Aerodactyl faints. Lance clicks his tongue before sending him back to a Pokéball. "Dragonite, are you good to go?"

There's a pained expression on Dragonite's face, but he's starting to regain the movement in his limbs. You curse under your breath for thinking that the paralysis would last long.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" 

Dragonite's movements are still sluggish from the paralysis, but that move's accuracy rate is low enough for Dragonite to dodge it. 

"Dragonite, Aqua Tail on Charmeleon!"

"Fuck, no! Salamence, Dragonbreath!" But Salamence moves too late. Dragonite is back to his original speed, and Aqua Tail is slamming into Charmeleon with a terrifying force. Charmeleon cries out and skids to the ground, but he still manages to struggle onto his feet. 

"Are you okay?" you call out and Charmeleon lets out a sound of confirmation. 

"All right. Charmeleon, Inferno again. Salamence use Double Edge!"

Salamence zips through the air and slams into Dragonite's side. The two airborne Pokémon both tumble to the ground, but Salamence gets out of the scene fast enough before Charmeleon unleashes an Inferno powered with Blaze. But you're sure as hell that Charmeleon's Inferno isn't enough to defeat Dragonite, so you exclaim your final command—

"Salamence, Hyper Beam!" 

When Dragonite crashes to the ground, Clair yells, "And the winner is the dragon tamer, (Name)! Wooohh! Ahhhh! Incessant cheering!" 

As you pant like you're the one who battled your Pokémon's match, you're not able to ignore the exhilaration that fills you up. You defeated Lance on two-on-two without using your own Dragonite. This is a new achievement! You run over to Charmeleon and Salamence to tell them that they did a job well done.

Lance sighs before recalling his Dragonite in his Pokéball. "If you're with me, the Battle Tree will be a joke, you know."

A laugh escapes your lips as you put your own Pokémon back. "I told you, I've been slacking off with training them. Salamence has become sassy lately, you know. He thinks he's boss."

"So that's a battle between dragon tamers."

Your head snaps to the intruder, and your jaw nearly drops. A dark-skinned woman is sashaying towards the three of you from the City. Her black hair is cut short and there are various accessories on different parts of her body—most of which are made of rocks. You have to admit, she's incredibly...alluring.

She stops just a few feet in front of Clair and grins suggestively. "I'm Olivia. Kukui told me to expect your visit."

And that marks the day you finally see Clair lose her composure over a girl.

 

* * *

 

The next few days you spend in Alola pass by quickly. After spending the first day with Olivia, even having dinner with her, the three of you decided that you'd continue with your respective agendas for tomorrow. Clair, however, was immediately engrossed with texting her new-found "friend" when the three of you come back to your room in the Hano Grand Resort.

The next day, you flew over to Malie City to talk to Samson, Lance challenged the Battle Tree, and Clair went off to catch her Jangmo-o. But just when you were about to head back to Heahea City, you saw a guy trying to steal a kid's Raticate. He was wearing some sort of gang uniform, and it irked you a little because it reminded you of Team Rocket. You managed to defeat him with Charmeleon, but instead of reacting like a wounded Pyroar, he broke down crying on the street, incoherently mumbling something like "Boss is gonna get the team back someday. I just know it!" Leaving him to his own devices, you decided to take the kid home, yourself—not really wanting to see anyone cry after failing to steal a Pokémon. At least Team Rocket grunts had more pride than that.

On your third day in Alola, you finally get reunited with Red and Blue, themselves when they pay a visit to the wedding venue, which happend to be your lodging place, as well. Over the past three days, you've explored the outside world more than the hotel so you're a little surprised to see that there's a huge ballroom at the ground floor. 

"We invited about a hundred guests," Blue shares as he tours the three of you around the venue. Some hotel staff are already working on the décor for tomorrow's ceremony. 

"Is the reception going to be here, too?" you inquire.

Blue snorts. "Of course not. This is just for the formalities. The real party happens at Hano Beach. Free booze and food for everyone!" 

You suddenly remember the reason why you were so excited to come—alcohol with Blue. Before the two of you went your separate ways, more often than not, you'd go out drinking with the former champion on Sunday nights, since those are his only free times off. The two of you have been regulars in Saffron City's local pub. And on good days, you'd even challenge Blue to a match at the dojo—the master keeps it open on Sundays just for the two of you. Well, Blue's definitely defeated you more times than you've defeated him.

"Hey, (Name), do you have an outfit for tomorrow already?" Clair suddenly asks. 

You frown. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. What about you?"

Clair shakes her head before turning to Red. "Do you know anywhere good to shop for clothes?"

"....."

You chortle as Clair gets irked. "Are you seriously still pulling off that mysterious silent guy card? I thought Blue changed that."

Blue laughs before slinging an arm around his fiancé. "He's just messing with you. And he may not be completely silent anymore, but Red is still a man of action."

"What's that supposed to mean?" You raise an eyebrow apprehensively.

"Not telling," Blue replies with a wink.

After the tour, Blue tells you and Clair that there's an apparel shop at Heahea City. He also says that him and Red will keep Lance company while the two of you go shopping. That concerns you a little because you're afraid that Clair's good mood for the past few days might shatter if you ask her what dress color would suit you. But your fears prove to be irrational when you manage to buy your outfit and some new sandals without her going off like a land mine. However, when you two exit the store, shoping bags in hand, she speaks up with an interesting remark.

"So you're meeting your soulmate tomorrow, huh?" 

"How did you know?"

Clair gestures to your wrists, which you've only noticed are void of your cuff accessories. What used to be the nearly transluscent numbers of the timer became almost an angry red tattoo on your skin. The numbers are still counting down, of course.

 

**27:54:37**

 

"Huh. Covering it up really _did_ work," you comment. "I haven't been thinking about it at all for the past few days."

A wistful sigh comes from Clair and it makes you glance at her. There's a tired look on her face, and she even seemed a little...sad.

"I wonder when I'll get my timer," she says.

You offer her a smile. "It'll come, Clair. Remember when we used to not believe in this shit?"

She laughs softly. "Yeah. But enough sadness. I wonder who your soulmate's gonna be. Makes sense how you're meeting them tomorrow, on Red and Blue's wedding, of all days. It might be a cutesy gym leader or a member of another region's Elite Four."

"For all I know, the priest is my soulmate."

"You're really funny, you know that?"

The two of you share a fit of laughs as you walk back to your hotel. You consider Clair's suggestion a while ago, but you don't recall any gym leader or League member from any region with stark ivory hair and eyes the color of molten iron. 

With a sigh, you decide to drop it and simply wait for tomorrow's events to unfold.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I'm sorry for the delayed update. I think I mentioned being in a new school year a while back? Yeah, I've been taking my schoolwork pretty seriously now, so I don't really have the time and the leisure to write my self-indulgent fanfiction :( BUT HERE IT IS. The chapter where the trashlord, himself, makes an appearance.

Weddings aren't really a strange affair to you. You've been to a handful in all the years you've spent traveling various regions, and every one has been rather fascinating. Even if you strongly disbelieved the soulmate tradition in the past, you're still mesmerized with the idea of being eternally bound to another person. It's amazing how one person, who used to be a stranger to you, could be the one that completes you a few years or so down the road.

Each region has different customs for their matrimonial rites, but your personal favorite is Johto's. There's something intimate in marrying in front of Ecruteak City's Bell Tower—whether it's from the mystical aura in the area or the idea of bridging an age-long tradition, you're not sure. But where Johto weddings are almost like a sacred praxis, Alolan weddings are more of a tropical summer party inside a ballroom.

The moment you walk inside the venue with your arm linked with Lance's, you immediately feel overdressed. Everywhere around you are people looking like luau-goers. Most are in bikinis or shirtless or borderline naked, but no one seems to be making a fuss about everyone's near public display of nudity. You glance down at your own outfit that consisted of an off-shoulder dress that showed a rather humble deal of your thighs, sandals that lace around your legs like vines, and of course, your metal cuffs. Before coming here, you thought you'd be the plainest looking person inside the room, but the skin everyone else is showing proved your initial idea otherwise. 

Once you resign yourself to the fact that dwelling on your state of overdress won't do you any good, you decide to avert your attention to the ballroom's décor. Like the lobby, the wooden walls are lined with tiki carvings and there are a bunch of hibiscus flowers dotting the place. Bamboo chairs with cushions are lined up in rows, but there's a certain space left in the middle, which you presumed is the aisle. At the end of that aisle is what seems to be a makeshift altar. A long table draped with a white cloth is on the far right, and you deduce that it's the presents table because of the abundance of neatly wrapped boxes of different sizes and colors. The glass doors are slid open to let the salty breeze waft inside, and the view of the waves lapping at the shores of Hano Beach from the distance seems more or less serene.

There's an idle chorus of chatter ringing in your ears and Lance has to tug on your arm to snap you out of your reverie. Your eyes turn to him, then to his choice of clothing, and suddenly your outfit doesn't feel over-the-top anymore. Lance simply went with his typical outfit—black body suit, black cape, and black boots—but he made an effort to slick his hair back and, somehow, he looks ten times more professional. He's practically dragging you along as the two of you followed Olivia and Clair's lead. Olivia is saying something to the three of you, but you're too distracted to listen. 

"You're a little out of it today," Lance comments. 

You can only nod in agreement. It's true. A few days ago, you've been pumped to finally see Red and Blue get hitched, but now that you're in the moment, all you want to do is crawl under the comforter in your hotel room and die. You find it strange, actually. Isn't the day you meet your soulmate supposed to be the most euphoric day of your life? If that's the case, then why do you feel like you're walking towards your personal execution?

The four of you halt in front the presents table, and you take notice of a man approaching, as well. He's only wearing dark red swimming trunks, so you can clearly see the lines and details of his muscular torso. His spiky hair is just as dark as his complexion and even has these orange highlights, so if you changed your perspective a little, it'll seem like his head is on fire. 

"Olivia, long time, no see!" he greets with open arms.

Olivia looks at him with little interest. "Kiawe, I talked with you, Lana, and Mallow the other day. What are you saying?"

He shrugs. "Not seeing anyone after a day is a long time to me." His eyes suddenly drift towards Clair, and he makes a noise that sounds like a choking Meowth.

Olivia smirks. "Clair here is too old for you, kid. Go get your eyes on someone your age." 

Kiawe mutters something you don't completely comprehend, and blatantly walks away. You raise an eyebrow at that, but before you could put another thought into it, yet another party collides with your own.

"So these are the famous dragon tamers I heard so much about!"

You turn on your heel and you're suddenly face-to-face with none other than Professor Kukui, himself. A little taken aback, your eyes widen. He takes notice of your surprise and laughs. "No need to be startled, cousin. It's just me."

Clair frowns. "He's our cousin?"

"It's an expression." Olivia rolls her eyes before turning to the professor. "What brings you here, Kukui?" 

"What brings me here, as in Red and Blue's wedding, or what brings me here, as in the presents table?" 

"Kukui."

"I jest. I jest. I simply wanted to meet these honorary members of Blackthorn City's dragon masters." He smiles as he scrutinized the three of you. "Hmm... Have you seen them in battle, Olivia?"

The kahuna nods. "Clair here only served as the ref, but she's Johto's eighth gym leader so I wouldn't question her prowess. These three will give us all a run for our money, I tell you." 

The fact that these two are animatedly discussing your trio as if you're not there bothers you a little, but the curiosity and interest on Kukui's face looks so genuine, you don't really have enough room to complain. This is your fourth day in Alola, but this is the first time you get to see Professor Kukui in the flesh. He's a strange-looking man with an equally strange sense of fashion. (Who wears a lab coat over a shirtless torso?) But you can somehow deduce that he's someone respectable.   

The professor suddenly turns to you. "You must be (Name), eh? Nice to meet you. And you must be... Why are you staring at me like that?"

Your brow quirks but you realize why Kukui uttered those words when you look at Lance. He's intently scrutinizing the Pokémon professor to a point where he's nearly giving him the stink eye. 

His eyes narrow dubiously. "Hey, aren't you that guy that showed me around in the Battle Royal last night? Where's your mask?" 

Kukui doesn't even try to mask the horror written on his face. Olivia only snorts. Your eyes flick between the three of them and you wonder what on Earth happened last night.

The professor shifts uncomfortably. "W-What are you talking about, cousin? I don't know any pro wrestlers."

"I didn't say you were a—"

"Hey ladies and gents," a voice echoes through the room, and you realize it's Daisy Oak, Blue's sister, speaking into the microphone. "The wedding is about to start in a few, so if I were you, I'd grab some seats and settle down. Thank you."

"She's a pretty casual emcee," Clair points out. 

"Hmm? Well, let's head to our seats, shall we? We'll talk to you later, Kukui," Olivia tells him with a lopsided grin. Kukui visibly shudders as he walks away to the front row of chairs. He sits down next to a person with ivory hair and your breath nearly hitches in your throat until you realize that the person is a she when you look more closely. She seems to notice the professor's shaken disposition and gives him a chaste kiss on the cheek. 

"That's Professor Burnet—Kukui's wife," Olivia informs.

You and your companions are seated at the far end of the room, so you have a nice view of the rest of the guests. You could spot some familiar hairstyles and hair colors **—** Candice's braids, Sidney's mohawk, Blaine's shiny head—but most of the guests are completely foreign to your eyes. You can't help but subconsciously search for another head full of white hair, but to no avail. It almost feels like the timer's taunting numbers are scratching into your skin as they counted down to your demise. Does this mean that your soulmate isn't in the room with you, or does it only count when you actually have a conversation with them? Maybe Professor Burnet is your soulmate...

"'Kay. Now that everyone's all settled, I'd just like to thank all of you for coming today," Daisy continues on the microphone. "Some of you have witnessed Red and Blue grow as Pokémon Trainers over the years, and there are also some who have only known them for a brief period of time. But, regardless of how long you've known my brother and brother-in-law, thank you. Your presence here means that you support their decision, and that you'll be more than happy to see them happy, as well. Now, without further ado, let's welcome the grooms and their entourage!"

As if on cue, the traditional wedding march melody blares through the speakers. The familiar song makes you feel a little warm inside, knowing that another strong bond will be made even stronger today. The doors to the ballroom open and the first to come in is an Arcanine with a little girl that looks an awful lot like Daisy on its back. With each proud step the Arcanine makes, the child would toss around white flower petals from a basket. Following the Pokémon are what you presume are the bridesmaids and groomsmen—you recognize Misty, Brock, Whitney, and Morty amongst the entourage, but there are even more unfamiliar faces in line. Next came in Professor Oak, wearing a bright blue Poliwag-patterned button-down, and on his arm is Red's mother in a pretty Alolan dress. The professor spots you in the crowd and waves, and you shyly wave back. Suddenly, you notice the shift in the music. It seems like the beat is...pulsing?

The next thing you know, the beat has dropped and Red and Blue are running inside the ballroom, hand-in-hand. It takes a few minutes for it to sink in that they actually played a remix of the wedding march.

"Lance, they're joking aren't they? They're not really getting married, _aren't they?_ " you yell through the music as you tug on Lance's arm.

He spares you a glance and only laughs out loud. "This is Alola for you."

You groan and bury your face in your hands. Someone really should have given you a heads up that Alolan weddings would be like...this. When you come to terms with the situation, you glance up ahead to see the two idiots running and jumping across the aisle like this gathering is some sort of concert. Blue even says, "Make some noiiiiiise!" at one point.

When they finally make it to the altar, the electronic music ceases and is replaced with the traditional wedding music once more. You sigh in relief as the crowd begins to calm down, as well.

"Alright, that's enough, kids. Let's get serious," Daisy laughs through the mic before clearing her throat. "Good afternoon to all of you. Today marks a milestone in the lives of our friends, our brothers, our rivals, Red and Blue. And I know we started this off with a bomb of an entrance, but let's keep the solemnity of the occasion, shall we? Now, may I call on Melemele Island's kahuna, Hala, to oversee the union of our beloved grooms."

A tall, large man with an abundance of white hair sitting at the front row, just a few seats away from Kukui, stands up. He walks over to the altar, but Red and Blue sandwich him within a hug first. A chorus of _awwws_ echo inside the room, and you honestly cannot relate because this is the first time you've seen this Hala person.

When they finish with their affections, Hala stands over the two of them and Daisy hands over the wireless mic. The kahuna begins saying a string of mantras in the old language, but since your Alolan is terrible, you can't exactly make out what he's saying. To your surprise, however, Clair suddenly taps your elbow. You turn to her and raise an eyebrow, wondering what is it that she wanted. She leans in closer to your ear to whisper, "Didn't you say something about the priest being your soulmate?"

Your eyes widen, your heart constricts, and for a second you forget how to breathe. You have to undo the cuff on your right wrist just to make sure. When you see the numbers still ticking down, you kind of feel bad for being afraid of being soulmates with Hala. 

 

**02:21:45**

 

"I am going to kill you," you hiss. Clair snickers, but when Olivia chastises the two of you, you keep your silence. 

Turns out, Hala is saying something out loud from one of the old Alolan scriptures, as Olivia informs you. How he managed to commit each foreign-sounding word to memory is beyond you. But Olivia translates the main idea of the jargon that Hala is saying.

"Basically, the texts say that soulmates are bound for life and if one party breaks the bond intentionally, the other party will suffer greatly. So yadda, yadda, keep your love strong and flourishing or whatever. Infidelity and adultery is frowned upon in marriage, more importantly, the soulmate bond."

You blink. "That's incredibly...straightforward."

Olivia laughs. "Yep. Alolan tradition has always been rock hard."

Clair snaps her head towards Olivia. "Did you just...make a rock pun?"

"It's a rare occasion. Bask in it."

"No, thank you."

You jump a little when the mic screeches obnoxiously through the speakers. You could hear Blue mutter, "Shit, sorry," before proceeding to talk in the same dialect that Hala used. 

"They're exchanging vows," Olivia supplies.

"Does everything need to be said in Alolan here?"

She hums in affirmation. "Apart from the entrance earlier, Alolans are pretty strict with tradition. I could even say more strict that you Johto folks, but since it's Red and Blue, they might've cheated off the customs and got away with it, anyway."

When Blue finishes his vows, he passes the microphone to Red, and you can feel yourself tingling in anticipation because you haven't heard Red talk ever since you went to Alola. 

"........"

"Are you fucking serious?" you whisper-scream with exasperation dripping in your voice.

"Shush," Lance scolds. "If it's Red, silence is special."

"You people cut them way too much slack."

"Shush," Clair is the one speaking this time. "You're ruining the Red-silence."

"Unbelievable."

Hala's voice echoes through the speakers once more. "By the power vested in me by the four guardian deities, I now pronounce you...Red and Blue."

Lance has to put a hand over your mouth to prevent you from yelling in frustration.

 

* * *

  

The reception takes place an hour after the wedding, and even in that given time, you're still mildly pissed off.

"I refuse to believe that was legitimate."

"Well, reality check, it is," says Clair as she slings a fluffy towel around her shoulder. You glare at her for two reasons: for contradicting you and for looking too hot in a swimsuit.

"Come on, (Name). Reception's starting soon. You don't wanna be late for the drinking games now don't you?" Lance taunts. 

"Yeah, I heard Blue thinks of the most...creative gimmicks," Olivia joins in.

You groan as you pull the covers of your duvet closer to your face. You're not overreacting. You are _not_. You're just mildly offended that the wedding was somewhat of a joke. If you're getting married to your soulmate, shouldn't it be more...special? But since you're easy to get over things, you pull yourself upright to cast the three of them sour looks, but you don't press the issue any further. 

"That's our girl! Now are you going to change out of your dress or not?" Lance asks. 

"Just go on ahead without me," you say with a little too much hostility than you mean to convey. "It's just going to be at Hano Beach, right?"

Clair sighs. "Yeah. We get it. We'll leave you alone."

"Thanks."

For a moment, you see a flash of hurt on her face when you say that, but it's gone just as quickly as it surfaced. She proceeds to storm out of the room, with Olivia and Lance following suit. But Lance turns around to give you one last concerned glance before shutting the door behind him. 

You stare at the ceiling for a long time, as if it's a remedy for the annoyance you feel. Red and Blue have been your friends for years, and it actually isn't that much of a surprise to find out that they actually ended up as soulmates. They had it easy. They've known each other since they were babies. They didn't have to work hard and travel far to find each other. But despite all of this, they made a joke out of the ceremony that will tie the two of them together for as long as they live.

 _You're just jealous because they have it easy and you don't._  
_I am not._  
_You are._  
_I am_ not.  
_Shut up, you're jealous._  
_I'm—_

You decide to cut your internal banter short. Complaining about how Red and Blue live their lives won't make yours any easier. So, you walk over to your bag to fetch your own swimsuit. It isn't too flashy—just a plain, red one-piece with a Magikarp in the middle. You take your time in stripping off your dress and unlacing your sandals, since your mood has rapidly depleted already. If you are to abide by your pettiness, you would just decide to ditch the reception, but you are a grown woman. Just because two of your closest friends have unintentionally ridiculed something that means a whole lot to you doesn't mean you can just switch off your maturity. In all honesty, you feel like a hypocrite, feeling this way. Only a few days ago you refused to acknowledge the existence of the soul bond, but now that you ate your words, you're already willing to fight everyone that mocks it.

You glance at yourself in front of the full-body mirror and when you're good to go, you grab a the towel at the foot of your bed and proceed heading outside. You place a hand on the door handle for a few moments, trying to even out your breathing. You're a dragon master. If you lose your composure, your dragons won't deem you worthy of commanding them. 

However, when you swing the door to your hotel room open, the sight that greets you is rather weird. Before you is a housekeeper, and slung across his shoulder is a transparent garbage bag full of...Pokéballs? Your eyes narrow in apprehension, but before you could say anything, the housekeeper beats you to it.

"You! I-I won't let you beat me again!" he exclaims in a familiar voice before scampering down the hallway. You're left aghast as to what is it that he meant, but then the poor guy trips on his own feet and his little uniform hat falls off his head. When you see his brightly colored, neon hair, you almost want to punch yourself for not recognizing him right off the bat.

"You're that thug that tried to steal that kid's Raticate!" You immediately bolt towards him, but unfortunately, he gets back on his feet and breaks into a sprint. He is much faster than you are, even if he _does_ have a bag full of Pokéballs, which you presume contain the Pokémon of various people staying in the hotel, over his shoulder. You mentally curse the security in this place. How could they let this one guy slip past their notice? But the thief makes the shittiest move against you when he uses the elevator and the doors manage to close just before you could jump inside. 

"Fuck," you mutter. But your eyes immediately flick to the staircase, and since you don't have any other choice in the matter, you sprint down two, three steps at a time. You're only at the third floor, so this shouldn't be too much of a problem. With adrenaline coursing through your veins, you manage to ignore the strain in your legs as you run down the stairs. You're not the most athletic person, but you can manage.

When you reach the ground floor, though, you could already see the thief running outside the hotel. Your eyes hastily dart around, wondering where the hell the guards are. Even the receptionists don't look the least bit baffled that, hello, there is a sketchy individual with a very conspicuous bag of Pokéballs running about!

You spot Volkner and Flint sitting on one of the sofas in the lobby, and you could tell that they're about to greet you, but your eyes are on that thief running outside, so you dash for him without sparing a glance at your friends. You save the guilt for later.

Your bare feet are padding against the cobblestone pathway, but you somehow couldn't care less. Suddenly, you're wondering why the hell you're chasing after this guy. The hero act never really fit you. It's always been meant for people like Red. Yet here you are, chasing a thief on the run, in your swimsuit when you don't even have a single Pokémon with you. A curse leaves your lips when you realize that, fuck, you _really_ don't have any Pokémon. 

 _Well, you're already in this mess anyway. No turning back, now._  
_You're very encouraging._  
_Thanks._  
_Stop monologuing yourself mid-chase scene. It's weird._

You lose the thief in Heahea City, and when you do, you're suddenly even more aware of the fact that you're only wearing a one-piece while running around the area. You've been given strange glances more than once already, but to hell with their judgement. This is Alola. There are some people who dress more obscenely than how you're clad at the moment. You decide to check every alley and crevice for that thug, but when you're ten minutes in, and you still haven't found a trace of him, you nearly give up. But then, you overhear a conversation in one of the alleys near the Dimensional Research Lab.

"Kid, the only reason I agreed to meet up with you was because I thought you had some important shit to say. If you're just going to show off that you stole some Pokémon, I don't wanna hear any of it, 'kay? I'm not your boss anymore. You don't have to keep doing this."

You walk closer and brace your hands against the walls of an unknown building. You strain your ears to listen in on their conversation.

"But, G, we need you! Team Skull is nothing without you."

A sigh. A thick silence. Another sigh, but heavier.

"Look, I already disbanded the gang. It's over. Team Skull is history. Now, I left a lot of the money that Aether gave us behind so you guys could use it to make lives for yourselves, but I don't want to see any of your faces back in Po Town, okay? Y'all deserve better. "

"B-But..."

Another pregnant silence follows and, getting a little sick of their melancholic banter, you jump out of hiding to imitate the best superhero voice you could muster.

"Give me back those Pokémon, you thieves!" 

The thief from earlier pales at the sight of you, but his companion doesn't seem fazed at all. Well, he's a head taller than the kid and definitely bulkier. But somehow, his hair reminds you of the blizzards of Snowpoint City; in his eyes, you can see the shiny rocks Steven Stone showed you in Hoenn; and that damned purple eyeshadow looks better on him in person—

All of a sudden, a flare of pain singes your right wrist, and you instinctively pry your cuffs off of your wrists. Your knees give out and tears begin to obscure your vision, but you could see the blood red numbers of the timer on your wrist. At this point, you're not sure if the numbers are just red or if it's actually your blood. 

 

_**00:00:00** _

 

You struggle to take a look at the man in front of you, and he doesn't seem to be in the same degree of pain as you are at the moment. He looks beautiful in a messy way, even if he _is_ wearing very baggy clothes. But before you could dwell on it deeper, you brace your hands against the pavement as a scream tears its way out of your lips. Everything is spinning and you're confused. You vaguely remember Lance telling you that meeting your soulmate will feel enlightening, but why is it the exact opposite? He said that your heart will be filled with euphoria, but why are you being filled with a sickening sense of dread, instead? Your hands claw at your chest from the feeling that your heart might explode with pressure, and you're pretty sure you look very pathetic as you lay dying in this dingy alley. But just when you think you're about to completely black out, you could feel a pair of strong arms cage you in their embrace.

"Get out'ta here, kid!" you could hear the man bark, and rushed footsteps ring inside your head. Everything seems hazy in your eyes, and you could barely make out the way this man looks, but, funny enough, his eyeshadow is still prominent in your dim vision. 

"Fuck, it's you," he mutters, but his voice seems so distant. You can feel his large hands caressing your hair soothingly, but it's like your body is wrapped in plastic. You can't feel his touch, you can't hear him clearly. "I've b...look...you...so...long."

You're going to pass out, it's a fact that's about to be proven, but you manage to ask one important thing before you go. "Who are you?"

Only silence follows when the words leave your lips, and you think that you already blacked out, but then:

"Guzma."

 

* * *

 

It's been three days since Red and Blue's wedding, and three days since the strange man, Guzma, went back with you passed out in his arms. The wrist where your countdown timer used to be was bleeding, and the sight made Lance put two and two together. Guzma is your soulmate, but there's something terribly wrong. Lance holds himself responsible. If only he didn't leave you alone that night, this would have been prevented, but Clair says otherwise, and she repeats her statements all over again when she sees Lance brooding over your still sleeping form in the Pokémon Center.

"You can't hinder fate, Lance. Even if you _did_ stay with her, you can't stop them from meeting each other," she reassures and places a hand on his shoulder.

Lance glances up at her and sighs. "I just don't get it. Why did this happen to her? When it happened to me it wasn't like... _this_." He gestures vaguely at you.

Clair shrugs. "You're the one that knows most about this soulmate thing out of the three of us. If you don't know what's up, then so do we. But the doctors didn't seem to be in any kind of panic, right? She's going to be okay. (Name) is tougher than both of us combined."

He appreciates Clair's attempt at comforting him, really. This only happens once in a blue moon. Clair's concern is only reserved for people closest to her heart. But Lance is, by no means, reassured. This is the first time he's seen something like this. There aren't any records in the books he's read depicting anything similar, either. 

A soft knock on the door to the hospital room shatters his trance. He tells Clair not to answer it, but she gets up to greet whoever is at the door, anyway. To his surprise, it's Hala.

"Uh, hi. You're the priest at the wedding right?" Clair greets awkwardly. "What brings you here...sir?"

"No need to be so formal with me. And I am not a priest. I simply oversaw the union between Red and Blue. But, ah, that is not what I came here to discuss, Miss Clair, Mister Lance," Hala nods to both of them. 

Clair lets him in and shuts the door, and Hala walks over to you, scrutinizing your unconscious self. He scratches his chin and hums. "How peculiar. She still hasn't woken up?" 

Lance wants to bark out, "If she already woke up would we still be here?" But just his luck, Clair takes over the role of the responsible adult in this conversation. "Unfortunately, no. The doctors said that there's nothing wrong with any of her vitals. They're only keeping her here for some observations."

Hala's face darkens. "There are instances where the first meeting is so overwhelming, some people lose consciousness for a few hours. But I have never seen anything like this at all. However..."

The older man is silent for a good while, until Lance snaps, "What is it?"

"I have heard of this phenomenon happening. It's an extremely rare occurrence, since humans are good by nature..."

He's feeling more and more irritated by the minute. "What do you mean?"

The sigh that Hala gives out makes a shiver run down his spine, for some reason. And when he looks at Lance, an inexplicable sense of fear suddenly strikes his heart.

"Mister Lance, have you heard of a pure soul being tied with a damned one?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHHH MY GOD HI this was REALLY fun to write. And honestly I have no idea how weddings in the Pokémon world take place so I kind of just made stuff up. I'm pretty sure Alolan weddings don't start with EDM tracks, but if Blue is in the recipe, anything is possible ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ also I based off the EDM track thing [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9QFjz87nOY) if you want to check it out.
> 
> ++Ultra Sun and Moon will be out on November-ish? And I'm not sure if it's going to be a re-telling of S&M or if it'll be something like B&W 2, where the story takes place like a few years after the first set of games. So, since I'm unsure of that, i just want to make it clear that I, of course, will not be basing this story off the possibilities in Ultra S&M. But it DOES take place after S&M, but you probably already figured that out when the team skull grunt went to guzma practically begging him to get the team back. 
> 
> ALSO I'm a write tonight edit tomorrow kind of person so UGH i'll proofread this again tomorrow i promise!! Anyways, how'd you like this? Let me know, and thank you for stopping by~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this took a while. I'm pretty sure I started writing this in July, but lookie it's already September. Whoops.

A few days later you're yet to awaken from your slumber, Professor Kukui tours Lance around Alola, since he's being "too hard on himself", and Clair is left to watch over you. She's playing fetch with your Eevee, more to entertain herself than your Pokémon. But after a few throws, she gets tired of it. Eevee walks up to her and nuzzles her leg. 

"Sorry, girl. I'm just not into it..." She reaches out to pat Eevee's head. 

Just when she's about to resign herself to the fact that nothing eventful will happen today, she hears a soft knock on the door to your room. She's half curious, since she isn't expecting any visitors today, and half excited, because she won't be all alone after all. Clair gets up to greet the guest, and it's someone that she never expected to come back after that night.

"Guzma?" 

He's not wearing the outfit that Clair always sees him in in the old news articles. Today, he went with a white shirt with an undone, short-sleeved, purple button-up, and he exchanged his baggy sweatpants and white sneakers for a pair of walking shorts and sandals. His outfit looks spiffy, but he looks as if he hasn't gotten a wink of sleep for the past few days.

"Um, hey," he greets without making eye contact. "I, uh, just wanted to check up on her."

Clair hesitates for a moment, but reminds herself that this man is no longer the leader of the most notorious band of criminals in the region. He's just a regular person now. He won't do you any harm. So, she opens the door wider and lets him in. Guzma immediately walks over to you and reaches out. But he immediately stops himself from touching you, for reasons unknown to Clair. 

"What happened after I left?" He asks in a soft voice.

Clair closes the door behind her, but then Eevee mewls from the far side of the room, and Clair puts her back in her Pokéball. After, she joins Guzma by your bed. Her hands grip the side railings and the metal is cold against her skin from the air conditioning in the room. The sight of you in this state is beginning to make her want to throw up. She's not used to seeing you like this. For years, she's always been perplexed by the fact that you had the energy of a Mankey on steroids, but she's only starting to appreciate that now. She may or may not want to admit it, but Clair misses you.

"Lots of blood lost, you were right," she sighs. "But they couldn't find a person with the same blood type as she does, so a transfusion was temporarily ruled out. They put her on some medication and hoped that she'd wake up in a couple of days."

" _Hoped_ that she'd wake up in a couple of days? Are you fucking with me?" Guzma nearly snarls. 

"I wish I was, actually."

Vexation is evident on his face, and it looks like he's trying very hard not to break anything out of frustration. He lets out a long exhale and turns his stone hard gaze onto you, and he seems to relax. "What's her blood type?"

Clair tells him what it is, and his eyes become as wide as an Espurr's. "Is it an ugly coincidence that we share the same blood type?"

She shrugs. "I dunno. Won't most people consider it cute when soulmates have the same blood type?"

"The hell's cute about that?"

"Are you gonna donate some of your goddamn blood or not?"

Guzma glares at her. "I'm beginning to dislike you."

"Don't worry, the feeling is mutual."

A thick silence follows after that, like Guzma is actually having second thoughts about aiding his own soulmate. Clair is about to yell at him, before he speaks again.

"If I'm going to give her some of my blood, there's something you need to know."

"For the record, I'm not interested in anything that has to do with blood."

"You're going to want to know this. My blood is poison."

"Har. Har. You sound like one of those eccentric male leads in those dystopian novels. _My blood is poison_ , really?"

"Listen," Guzma's tone of voice begins to escalate into a more desperate ring. "I know you know about me; the stuff I did, the places I went, the people I worked with. All of that's either in old newspapers or burned in the memories of the locals. But there's something that the media and the people don't know about."

Clair feels a little agitated to find out that Guzma is aware that she's been snooping around Alola's history for the past few years, but from the urgency in his voice, this sounds like something of utter importance. From everything that she's read, and from all the hearsay that the staff at the hotel has shared with her, she's come to draw Guzma as a typical region bad guy. The local Champion put a stop to all his antics with some lady called Lusamine, and now he's finding a new purpose. One chatty housekeeping maid once told her that Guzma became a monster, but is a monster capable of gazing at someone with so much endearment, just like how Guzma is doing with you now?

"You know about Ultra Space, don't you?" He asks her without tearing his gaze away from you.

"Yeah. That's where the Ultra Beasts came from."

"Well, in the reports, they said that me, Lusamine, Moon, and Lillie came out of there alive, with Lusamine being heavily poisoned from being fused with a Nihilego for too long. What they don't know is that I got poisoned, too."

"...So you fused with that Lego thing?"

" _Nihilego_."

"Whatever."

"But not necessarily. The Nihilego was only in my body for a few seconds. I thought I was gonna be okay, but turns out that thing left tons of foreign cells inside me. The scientists at Aether, the foundation that Lusamine used to manage, tried a lot of shit just so they can cure my sorry ass, but... Turns out I'm poisoned forever."

"You're overreacting. You just haven't found a cure yet."

He shrugs. "I don't think I even care at this point. See, they diagnosed that I'm 'poisoned' but look at me, all healthy and shit. I just have tiny Nihilegos inside me is all."

For a moment, Hala's words echo inside of her head. ( _Have you ever heard of a pure soul being tied to a damned one?)_ And Clair refuses to believe that this is what he meant. Guzma can't be damned just because he has those cells inside of him. That's a little bit over-the-top.

Guzma gives Clair a look that suggests that she weigh her choices now. Clair takes a moment to process all of this information. On the one hand, if Guzma manages to give you some of his blood, your recovery rate might speed up. On the other hand, his blood is full of alien cells and a transfusion could be fatal. But from the looks of it, he seems to be doing swimmingly with his life even if there is some potentially toxic substance inside him. 

Clair gives you a last glance. Even with the medication provided by the Pokémon Center, you still look deathly pale, and it hurts just to look at you. She admits that she wasn't as fond of you in your younger years and even now, since Clair's always been envious of you; you, who always received the approval of the elders; you, who everyone liked better; you, who was always the better tamer; you, who always showed her compassion even if all she showed you was disdain. Somehow, she feels like she owes you, and for now, her priority should be saving you.

"Okay. I'm going to call the doctor."

 

* * *

 

Clair bears witness to a lot of things she's better off not knowing about. But that just means there are a lot of things that she keeps to herself. One time, in the good old days of her childhood, she recalls having seen your old Larvitar run away from Blackthorn City. When you asked her about its wherabouts, Clair only shrugged. In another instance, one she still feels guilty about up to this day, she saw those Team Rocket grunts and their executives on their way to Goldenrod City for their city-wide invasion, while she traveled the skies on a borrowed Dragonite. Instead of ringing up Whitney to warn her about the oncoming intruders, Clair fled back to Blackthorn City and feigned ignorance. Guilt plagued her for days in both scenarios, but now, the same feeling of culpability is sinking its claws around her heart, as she watches you finally regain consciousness, about two hours after the transfusion.

Lance has just gotten back from Kukui's Alola tour when you come to. He couldn't contain his joy and wrapped his arms around you in a tight embrace. You smile at him and return the gesture. Clair wants to get up from where she's sitting to shower you with the same affection, but she feels like she doesn't have the right to. You're okay and alive now because of what Clair allowed to happen, but what about six months down the road? The next year? A transfusion seemed like a good idea a few hours ago, but now everything is crashing down on her like a tidal wave. What's worse is that Guzma isn't here to reassure her that everything's going to be fine. The ex-boss left just before Lance arrived, claiming that he has to go back to Aether for some more test runs with his blood. But before his departure, he left with a few words.

"Don't tell Lance."

In hindsight, Clair never planned to tell him. Lance would go ballistic if he found out that she allowed the doctors to infuse toxic blood inside of you, even if it would hasten your recovery. 

"Hey, Clair! C'mon here. Group hug!" Lance laughs before ruffling your hair. "But, oh God, I swear, if you pass out for a week again, I'll kill you."

"Hey, it's not like I passed out on purpose," you reason before smacking him on the shoulder. "But for a week? Really? No wonder my mouth feels like a desert."

"I'll go get some water from the pantry outside," Clair volunteers. 

Lance shoots her a questioning look, but lets her do as she pleases. When Clair closes the door behind her, she takes note of how this Pokémon Center smells like oranges. The lack of the scent of disinfectants subtly bothered her. Nonetheless, she made her way to the pantry just at the end of the hallway. There's someone else inside, but she doesn't give the other person any mind. Clair simply grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with water from the dispenser. One part cold, and one part hot. She fills another cup with the same lukewarm recipe before turning around to go back to your room, but that's until the other person in the pantry takes notice of her.

"Clair?"

She turns around to look at who greeted her and she feels a little stupid for not recognizing those dragon fang accessories at first glance. "Drasna? What are you doing here?"

The older woman laughs. "Oh, I'm on vacation with our champion, Diantha. You've grown so much from the last time I visited Blackthorn City. What a fine young lady you are! Met your soulmate yet?"

That question stings a little but Clair replies with a forced laugh and shakes her head. "I'm still on the market."

"Oh, you. How about your dragons? How are they doing? Have you disciplined that sassy Kingdra of yours?"

"Yes, Drasna. Man, you sound like the elders when I just gotten back from a long trip."

"Oh, I'm sorry for coming off a little forward, dear. I've missed you is all. It's my turn to ask what you're doing here."

"Ah, our friends Red and Blue got married, and we were actually only supposed to be here for a week, but.... (Name) ended up hospitalized."

Drasna seems a little surprised upon hearing that, but instead of asking more questions, like Clair expects her to, she says, "Oh dear... I won't pester you for details. You look as worn out as an old sock. I'm sure you won't appreciate any more questions from an old lady. Have you gotten any sleep, dear?"

"Barely."

She laughs and pats Clair's shoulder. "Get some shut eye. You won't function properly as a tamer if you're sleep-deprived. Now, I better get going. Tell (Name) and Lance I said hi, okay?"

"Will do. See you around, Drasna." 

When Clair goes back to your room, she hands you the two cups of water and you finish both in less than half a minute. She asks if you want more out of concern, but you ignore her inquiry and say, "Hey Clair, you're meeting your soulmate soon."

Her eyes narrow. "You literally just woke up a few minutes ago and you think now is the time to start teasing me again?"

You flash her a lazy smile before pointing at her hands. Confused, she looks down and sees that you're not pertaining to her hands, you're pointing out the red numbers on the skin of her wrist.

 

**119:58:45**

 

"Oh no."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it. A risky blood transfusion occurred, Clair and Guzma had some bonding time, Drasna, one of my favorite elite four members, made an appearance, and ta-da! Clair is about to meet her soulmate. Although, this chapter is a little shorter than the rest, it's pretty necessary. If you're still tuned into this, thanks SO much and all your comments are very helpful <3 I'm always open to comments that will help me improve in writing~ But anyways, the next update might take a while, too. But I'm definitely not giving up on this, since I've gotten so invested lmao. Again, thanks a lot for stopping by <3


	5. Chapter 5

Guzma is not fond of being told what to do. Never has been, never will be. So, when the first thing Gladion does is yell at him when when Guzma arrives at Aether to have his monthly blood testing, he doesn't appreciate it one bit. 

"What is this I heard about you undergoing a transplant? You are perfectly aware that those neurotoxins haven't been eliminated in your system, right? _Right_? Yet, you just went off on your own accord to share your blood with someone else. You are _unbelievable_." 

If the Gladion from two years ago is the one giving Guzma an earful right now, he would've sent out his Golisopod and ordered the bug Pokémon to throw Gladion into the reservoir just to shut him up. Unfortunately, the Gladion in front of him now is a little intimidating and is almost as tall as Guzma. He exchanged his dark, ripped clothing for an all-white outfit with a lab coat, even if he isn't a scientist. But the most notable physical change about Gladion is his hair. No longer is he that kid with half of his face obscured by platinum blond hair. (Although, Gladion now kind of looks like that one scientist from the Unova region that always drops by Aether from time to time). Guzma deduces that now that he's the new president of the foundation, Gladion realized that he shouldn't look like a brooding edge lord any longer.

During the past two years, Guzma is only ever seen training with Hala or undergoing a plethora of tests at Aether, meaning Gladion is one of the few people he has the pleasure of seeing almost everyday. But with the time he's spent with the brat, Guzma has definitely noticed that he's already outgrown that brooding teen phase and has become somewhat a more responsible adult that Guzma can ever hope to be.

A Togedemaru leaps from one of the nearby trees and onto Guzma's shoulder. It nuzzles the crook of his neck and Guzma reaches out to pet it. "Her blood type is pretty rare. They couldn't find another donor. If I hadn't given her some of my blood, she'd be in comatose up until now." 

He gives Guzma a pointed look. "So, what you mean to tell me, is that out of all the people that make up the population of the Alola region, you're the one, single person that shares the same blood type as hers? What, did she come out of an Ultra Wormhole, or something?" 

"When did you become such a wise-ass without me noticing?"

Gladion waves away his inquiry and sighs. "Well, you've already infected another innocent, so there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Stop saying it like I have some pathological illness, asshole."

"Technically, it _is_ a pathological illness. But where did you learn the word pathological?"

"I am seriously going to beat you up."

Gladion laughs and holds out his elbow at Guzma. This confuses him a little, but then the Togedemaru perched on top of Guzma's shoulder mewls and dashes across Gladion's arm and onto his head. The smile on his face stretches farther as he tries to grab the Pokémon. 

"You're a playful one, aren't you?" he says and gathers the Togedemaru in his arms. 

From what Guzma can garner in all the time he's spent with Aether—by extension, Gladion—everyone's got a soft spot for Pokémon. In hindsight, why would you even be in Aether in the first place if you didn't have a love for Pokémon? But, strange enough, Gladion seems to express this more than most. When he first approached Guzma all those years ago, asking him to make him part of Team Skull, Guzma never would have expected that he'd grow become someone like this. 

"So, what made that girl so special that you had to donate your own blood to her? That didn't seem like something you'd do willingly, no offense. How did you even know that she needed it? The only people you ever talk to now is me, Plumeria, and Hala. Well, Wicke and everyone else in Aether, too, maybe. Is she one of the employees?"

Guzma scoffs. "I would never date any of your clean freaks."

"So you're dating the girl, then?"

He can feels his face grow warmer. Fuck! Why did he out himself? "U-Uh, no, I'm not."

"You like her?"

"No."

"Ah, you _love_ her?"

"Fuck, no!"

"Then why'd you do it? Even if you knew that the toxins in your blood might end up killing her in the end, why?"

Guzma finds it s little difficult to answer, but he finds his voice. "Because if I didn't, I'd lose her before I could even fucking have her." 

Gladion raises an eyebrow. "Is she your soulmate, by any chance?"

Guzma groans and leans on the white fences. "Spot on."

With a sigh, Gladion pets the Togedemaru, with a spark of electricity flowing from its fur and onto his gloved hand. "Okay, I completely understand why you did that for that reason. We already confirmed that the toxins in Lusamine's body aren't lethal. They simply served as a really powerful stimulator, right? But you know that yours is a different case, Guzma. It wasn't Nihilego poison that was discovered inside you. It's Nihilego _cells_. And up until now, we can't figure out if it's a threat or not." He pauses for a brief moment and gives him a concerned look. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't have saved your soulmate. I'm just telling you to be prepared for whatever might surface in the future because of what you've done."

Damn. One thing Guzma loathes more than being told what to do is being schooled by someone nearly a decade younger than him. 

He breathes deeply. "I'm gonna jet now. Wicke's probably waiting for me."

"But, Guzma, before you go..."

"What is it?"

Gladion crouches down to release the Togedemaru onto the floor. It squeaks at him before dashing away. His eyes then seem to scan the surrounding area, as if checking if somebody might be listening in on their conversation. When he's content, he lowers his voice into a whisper. "What do you know about soulmates?"

Guzma stares blankly. "What?"

"Don't make me say it again."

"What brought it up? Did your timer show up already or something?"

He shakes his head. "No, but it's my first time seeing a timer today. Plumeria showed up a while ago, and she didn't even bother covering it up."

Guzma shrugs. "Plumes doesn't give a shit about ninety percent of the time."

"How does that thing work exactly? I wasn't really given a briefing of soulmates when I was a kid."

"You're still a kid, Gladion."

"I'm seventeen."

"So?"

"Just tell me what you know," he says irritably. 

"Well, the timer just appears on your wrist, uh, five days before you meet your soulmate, and—"

"No, no. I already know that part. I want you to tell me what happens when you're..... separated from your soulmate."

Guzma rolls his eyes. "You weren't exactly specific, you know? But do I look like someone who's already been separated with my soulmate? I ain't that old." 

Gladion is quiet for so long, it makes Guzma uncomfortable, but when he speaks up again, Guzma wishes he bailed out on the conversation when he could. 

"Who is she anyway?"

"I-I don't see how that's relevant." He purposely avoids his stare. Gladion's green eyes held the curiosity of a child, and it's bugging him. When he doesn't cease sith his piercing stare, Guzma says, "I'm not telling you,"  before walking away towards the elevator. 

"I'll find out anyway, you know."

His stride comes to a halt so he could flash Gladion an impudent smirk. "I like to keep you on your toes, kid."

 

* * *

 

"Ow."

"That hurts?"

"I wouldn't have said _ow_ if it didn't..... Stop poking my arm, it hurts!"

Lance lets out a cheery laugh. "Sorry. I'm just happy."

"Because I'm awake?"

"No. You're not that special."

You feign offense and hit him on his head.

"Ow!" 

"That hurts?" you taunt. 

"Oh, fuck you." 

"Can both of you shut up?" Clair yells from her bed. "I'm talking to Professor Elm, if all of you don't mind."

You giggle before checking your Pokégear for any messages. (Apparently, some native from the Johto region built a signal tower for Pokégears, somewhere here on Akala Island, which explains the presence of a signal.) Most of them are from your worried-sick mother. About a hundred messages and a dozen missed calls over the past week. You make sure to compose a decent reply, letting her know that you're still alive and breathing, and that you might come visit her in Sinnoh soon. When you send her your regards, you pay attention to the other messages in your inbox. They're mostly from some close friends you made through the years. Even Mr. Stone, Steven Stone's dad, sent you his best wishes. You take the time to thank everyone for their sentiments, and when you're done, Clair still isn't off the phone.

"Hey, you wanna walk around or something?" Lance offers.

"I literally just got back here in the hotel an hour ago, and now you want to go out again?"

"I actually want a rematch, but I don't want to stress you out more than you already are."

You roll your eyes. "How about we get a Charizard to fly us over to the Battle Tree. I could use some battling, but I don't wanna battle _you_."

He smirks. "Why, afraid you'll lose?"

"No," you scoff. "I just miss tag-teaming with you."

He ruffles your hair affectionately. "Just so you know, I took care of your Pokémon while you were unconscious. I had some issues with Salamence, though."

You laugh at that before getting up to grab your Pokéballs on the nightstand drawer. Funny enough, when you first caught Salamance when he was still a Bagon, he liked Lance far better than he liked you. Every time you tried to command him, he'd spit a mouthful of Dragonbreath into your face instead of the opposing Pokémon. 

"Is taking care of my Pokémon all you did while I was out?" Incredibility laces your words. 

"I also took care of you. With Clair's help, of course." 

"Aw, you guys love me."

"Don't push it."

"Come on." You tug on Lance's arm. "You got me fired up all of a sudden."

"Hey, you're the one who proposed the Battle Tree idea. Plus, it's already dusk. You sure you wanna go?"

"Not so fast."

Both of your heads snap to Clair's direction, and the look in her eyes depicts that the phone call she had with Professor Elm brought about some bad news. You begin thinking of various reasons for Clair to look that distressed. She's a composed person most of the time, so seeing her looking so agitated is quite a bothersome deal. Did Team Rocket suddenly regroup and are out for blood again? Did the Johto region get annihilated by a super ancient Pokémon? Did someone steal one of her capes at home?

"Lance, we need to head back to Johto as soon as possible." As she speaks, she's already beginning to unceremoniously shove her belongings in her bags with the haste of a Deoxys in Speed Form. When she notices that both of you are just staring at her, dumbfounded, it seems to spark her irritation. "The hell are you two looking at me for? Go and pack!"

"Whoa, hold on a second. What exactly happened? What did the Professor say?" Lance asks with creases on his forehead. "You look like he told you how the world's going to end."

Clair lets out a harsh sounding laugh. "Funny. That's _exactly_ what he said."

Lance doesn't look convinced. "You're overreacting."

Clair dumps her Pokéballs into her bag out of frustration, and shoots Lance a vexed look. "Okay. Fine. Maybe I _am_ overreacting on that part, but the world will end if we don't get our asses there as soon as possible. You," she points a finger at you, "will be staying right here. You're not part of the Johto League, so you don't have to come. Plus, I don't want you stressing yourself out. Got it?" The assertiveness in her voice nearly compels you to agree, but then you remember that these are your friends, who did nothing but take care of you and look out for you. You can't just sit around and let them deal with the Johto regions problems. 

"I'm coming with you guys," you insist.

"You are _not_ coming." 

"But why?"

"You aren't part of the League so you're not needed there. You're better off resting here in Alola, away from the Ultra— t-the problems we have. You're the traveling dragon master, right? Who says you need to be meddling in the affairs of a specific region when your help isn't needed?" 

"What, you trying to hog the spotlight for yourself again, Clair?" You don't know where the accusations are coming from, but you're probably just as riled up as she is, if not more so. As a good friend, you try to contain your irritation, but the words spill from your mouth like water from an overflowing dam. "You don't want me to be there so the attention's all gonna be on you, right? It's always been like that, right? You know, I've let you off the hook all these years because you're my friend and I'd rather lose the spotlight than lose you. I don't give a shit about attention anyway. But you're intentionally pushing me away just so people would acknowledge you? That's just a whole new low and you know it." 

Her eyes narrow at your words and, all of a sudden, you feel as if you challenged a Pyroar in a duel for dominance. "What did you just say?"

Somehow, you find it in you to smile. "Guilty?"

The expression she dons hits you like a pile of bricks. Her lips are turned downwards into a quivering frown, and her eyes are somewhat glistening in the fluorescent light. You can tell that she's trying very hard not to say anything that could cause the same emotional damage as you did, and you regret your words all of a sudden. You've kept your problems with Clair to yourself all these years, and now is the time you chose to let it all out?

"Y-You know, ever since that thing you did for me back in the ship to Alola, I tried being more friendly towards you. I really did, And yes, all this time, I want the spotlight to be on me, not on you. But that's because you always command attention, (Name)! You never needed to prove yourself for people to acknowledge your strength. The elders, Lance, everyone thinks you're oh-so amazing! Hell, they even offered you a place in the Elite Four, but you declined it. You threw away something that I would kill for! Isn't that just unfair? Why is it always you, you, you! Why is it that when it comes to me, everyone else is skeptical? When it's Clair, I'm not good enough. Sometimes I just wish you never existed."

A pregnant silence passes over the room, and you feel like a Decidueye just shot you with a million arrows to the heart. All this time, you knew how Clair felt about you, but actually hearing the words come out of her mouth hits home two, three, ten times worse than you initially thought. Clair isn't showing any signs of remorse for her words, either. So, before you can break down in front of your friends, you turn on your heel and stalk towards the door. 

"Stay safe on your way back," you manage to say without your voice cracking, before you shut the door behind you. 

 

* * *

  

You asked the local Nurse at the nearby Pokémon Center where the most secluded part of Alola is, and she simply said two words: Po Town. Apparently, it was the old base for the resident criminal organization Team Skull. She told you not to worry because they've been disbanded for as long as anyone can remember, and all that's left of the place is crumbling buildings, graffiti-stained walls, and broken dreams. You thought that she was exaggerating a bit on that last bit. Is stealing Pokémon from other people and being a band of criminals an ideal dream in the first place?

When Charizard lands on the crumbling cobblestone steps in front of the abandoned Pokémon Center, you cuss very loudly. They say that rain in Alola is somewhat an uncommon occurrence, yet a torrential downpour is present here in Po Town. Your eyes scan the area, which is pretty difficult since the sun has long set, and because the rain is obscuring your vision. But from your limited eyesight, you notice that the place is surrounded by high walls, as if trying to keep something out.... Or something in? You disregard what the purpose of those walls might be, since it'll have no meaning now anyway, now that the place is deserted. The whole town is devoid of light but you can make out some lampposts in the darkness. It makes perfect sense for a deserted town to not have electricity, right? You consider letting out Charmeleon to provide you with a light source from his tail, but the rain might end up getting him sick, so you decide to blindly tread through the horrible weather, just to get as far away as possible from Clair and Lance. 

Barely five minutes into your walk, the rain has already soaked through your clothes and hair, and you're beginning to miss the coziness of the hotel's comforters. Hell, you'd pick your cold hospital bed over this. Why did you even decide to go here in the first place? As you walk further, you notice that all of the houses in the area still have green shrubbery. But what captures your interest most is the abundance of graffiti everywhere. Graffiti on the walls, on the streets, and there's even a S-shaped symbol on one of the hedges. You can't really see how an organized group of criminals can work in a place like this. Maybe it only became this way when they left? They couldn't have done this on their own, right? Team Rocket isn't as messy as this....

A clap of thunder roots itself in the sky and you feel like the surge went into your body and electrified you. You accidentally slip into a puddle of rainwater, and land on your bad arm. Moans of pain come out of your mouth as you attempt to soothe it. Ever since you woke up yesterday, an aching feeling has always been pulsing in your arm. You didn't give it any mind at first, but now it feels like a Machamp just punched you. All of a sudden, the feeling like you're being watched fills your senses, and you're up on your feet immediately. You're taking deep, heavy breaths, and your eyes are darting around, trying to see through the darkness. But there's nothing but overgrown vegetation, and crumbling houses all around you. When you avert your gaze straight ahead, you can almost see a house bigger than the rest of the ones in the neighborhood, and on the front porch is one lone figure just standing there.

A chill travels down your body, and you're suddenly rooted on the spot where you're standing. Again, why did you think it was a good idea to hole yourself up in a town that's been long forgotten, but then you remember Clair's words.

_Sometimes I wish you never existed._

As you made your way here on Charizard's back, you tried telling yourself a million times that Clair didn't mean what she said, but the image of the angry flame in her blue eyes kept popping up into your mind whenever you did so. If you get lost in somewhere that doesn't exist to everyone anymore, it's as good as never existing, right? But your thoughts of disappearing forever completely vanish when the dark figure in front of the house begins to walk closer to you. Suddenly, you don't want to die alone in this old, abandoned town where no one can find you ever again, so you grab a Pokéball from your bag, not caring which of your Pokémon is inside, and released whoever is in it.

It's Charmeleon.

Even through the pouring rain, he showcases his determination to fight alongside you, but you can see the immediate pain he lets on once he's exposed to the rain. Through your fear, you don't think twice about this and immediately yell, "Inferno!"

"Razor Shell!" another voice yells out, and the next thing you know, Charmeleon is fainted on the cobblestone road. You cry out in concern and immediately place him back in his Pokéball. "I'm sorry," you whisper to yourself before tossing another Pokéball, which nearly slips out of your doused fingers. This time, you're a bit luckier, since it's your Dragonite. 

"Dragonite, Flash!" 

All at once, the once shadow-ridden Po Town has been illuminated by your Dragonite, and your jaw nearly drops when you realize who's in front of you.

Guzma flashes you a condescending smile. "Miss me?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" you nearly yell at him.

He shrugs. "I live here, girlie. Oh, and sorry 'bout knocking out your Charmeleon earlier. You were going to kill me."

When he takes a step forward, you instinctively take a step back. Guzma felt like home during the night you met him, but now your senses are on high alert. Somehow, he screams danger, but maybe that's just you painting a prejudice over his persona. He's simply someone you've never had the pleasure to meet before. Unfamiliar doesn't always mean bad. 

"Where did the Razor Shell come from?" you ask as you slowly approach your Dragonite for some semblance of reassurance. 

He smiles. "My buddy helped out. Hey, Golisopod, c'mere!" he yells out into the darkness. 

You hear an insect-like cry, and some heavy shuffling, then the next thing you know, a humanoid cockroach-thing is emerging from the shadows behind Guzma. You nearly scream at the sight of it. Bug types aren't exactly your cup of tea, but you manage to calm yourself down by holding your Dragonite's hand. She shoots you a confused look. Guzma laughs before turning around and walking back to the house, with his Pokémon trailing behind him.

"Where are you going?" you cry out.

"Back home. They said there's a storm coming tonight. I don't wanna be outside when it hits." He pauses before turning around to flash you a smirk. "You don't seem to be willing to be alone with me, but know that you're always welcome in my house if you can't make your way back to your hotel."

You could only watch in disbelief when he shuts the front door to the huge house. Dragonite lets out a sound that you interpret as a complaint, and the Flash dies out, leaving you in pitch black darkness once more. You curse before fishing out your Ride Pager to call on a Charizard, but after a few failed attempts, you conclude that the storm is interfering with the signal. And in retrospect, just after witnessing what your Charmeleon went through when he was exposed to the rain for only a few minutes, you'd rather not see what it would do to a Charizard with you on its back. Hesitantly, you shift your gaze onto the building Guzma claims as his home. As if on cue, another jolt of lightning illuminates the sky for a millisecond and you can see Guzma watching from one of the windows. 

Another icy shiver caresses your spine. You have two choices: die in the rain or die inside the house of a potential murderer, but the potential murder is your soulmate.

You choose the latter.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a write tonight, edit tomorrow chapter brought to you by me. I checked the wiki if Dragonite can learn Flash and it actually can't, but for the sake of the plot, let's go with it. And uh, ages are pretty hard to conceptualize here, since the events in heartgold and soulsilver/ firered and leafgreen seem to have happened a longggg time before the events of sun and moon, since red and blue have already matured drastically. Another tricky thing is that they don't reveal the characters' ages much. But, since it's a matter that I don't want to spend too much time scrutinizing, I'm just going to estimate that Gladion was 15 during the s&m gameplay, and that this particular one happens two years after. And oh lord, I do not want to be specific with Guzma's age because I can't really make an accurate guess, myself. He's, 23 maybe? I DONT KNOW. 
> 
> I'm actually still facing a lot of dilemmas with this, since I want everything to make sense with the timelines, but thank you for your support! Your comments would very much be appreciated 
> 
> ALSO PSA: Baby Doll Eyes has reached 200 kudos and IDK THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY? Thank you also for everyone who supported that story! It really makes me feel ~special~  
> <3


	6. Chapter 6

The strange house looks more inviting on the inside. Sure, it's still completely devoid of power, but at least the chandelier and some candles scattered about are lit. Although the heavy drops of rain can still be heard echoing inside the house, you feel a whole lot safer (and dryer). 

Boxes, used cans of paint, and furniture are strewn all over the place. But despite this, various Pokémon are scattered about; all of which are eyeing you with interest. A Bagon even tries to approach you, but stumbles on its little feet in the process. You smile and gather it in your arms. It seems to have warmed up to you quickly enough for you to fathom whether dragon type Pokémon could sense that it's your type of choice. Unexpectedly, your Salamence forces his way out of his Pokéball and proceeds to snarl at the baby in your arms. Bagon cries out in fear and jumps to the floor to scoot away from you.

"Jealous much?" Your brows furrow significantly as you scold your Salamence. "Come here, you little baby. Don't let that big, arrogant, jerk scare you," you coo at the Bagon. It regards you with skepticism, but slowly approaches you once more. However, Salamence doesn't seem to be pleased with being called a _big, arrogant jerk_ , so he lashes out the poor Bagon with a Dragonbreath. Bagon squeals and completely runs behind the couches. The other Pokémon hiss at Salamance.

A scowl makes itself known on your lips. "You, mister, have a lot of problems, you know that?"

Salamence replies with a defiant huff.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh?"

"Do you talk like that to all your Pokémon?"

You nearly have a heart attack upon hearing another human voice. Is it your fault that you forgot that Guzma lived here for a few moments?  He descends from the staircase and seems to marvel at your surprise. In his arms are what seem to be a bunch of clothes. And from the looks of it, his presence seems to calm down the Pokémon that Salamance disturbed. 

"Here." He tosses the garments in your direction and you barely catch them. "Go change. You might catch a cold."

With narrowed eyes, you inspect the clothes he's let you borrow: a pair of too big sweatpants and a shirt. You hold both articles of clothing up to your nose for a sniff, and you immediately recoil at the scent. "Ugh, gross. Did you even wash these?"

"Oi. Those are just my old clothes. 'Course I washed them!" Guzma blabbers, a bit red-faced. "I take it you already realized that sunlight is something scarce 'round here. I haven't been able to do proper laundry in a _long_ time."

You're about to retaliate, but you remind yourself that Guzma is kind enough to let you inside his house, so being offered funny smelling clothes should be the least of your concerns. Biting the inside of your cheek, you ask him, "Uh, where can I change?" 

"Upstairs. Pick any room you want," he responds dismissively before walking over to the Pokémon that don't seem to be fond of your presence. They greet him with vehemence, and Guzma seems to struggle in trying to squeeze them all in his arms. A few moments later, they overwhelm him and he lands on the carpeted floor with a soft thud. To add insult to injury, a Masquerain even flutters on top of his head. You nearly snort at the sight, but remember to mind your own business. You try to catch Salamance's eyes. Alas, he resigns himself onto one of the sofas and proceeds to take a nap. Typical. 

Leaving Guzma and your Salamance to their own devices, you hike up the rickety looking stairs and that's when you only realize that Guzma's house doesn't only look messy, but vandalized, as well. Through the very dim illumination, you could see that paint splashes have defaced a large portrait on the wall, and you remember there being some semblance of graffiti downstairs, too. You wonder if all the graffiti and chaos was done by Guzma, himself. 

After a while, you shake your head and turn to the left, since the right staircase is blocked by a massive chandelier. You make a few guesses about which room wouldn't have some sinister entity hiding behind its door, and you come into a conclusion that the room at the far right would be the safest choice. The light from the first floor doesn't quite reach the second, and trepidation seeps into you once more. You're not very fond of dark areas, and this place really just takes the cake. You make sure to trail a hand on the cold wall as you make your way to the end of the hallway. When you finally manage to walk up to the door, your hand grips the knob tightly.

To make matters worse, a burst of lightning flashes through what you presume is the balcony. It's followed by a loud boom of thunder, and that's pretty much all it takes to have you quaking in your boots. Goosebumps erupt on the skin of your shoulders and you're suddenly aware of how cold you are. Hastily, you fling the door open and close it just as quickly when you get in. Your eyes are screwed shut as you feel up your pockets for your Pokégear because there is no way you're going to keep them open when you know that this room is going to be pitch black. When you get a grip on the familiar gadget, you immediately switch it on, and you've never been glad to hear the boot-up tone than you are now.

The room you're in is oddly tidier than the rest of the house. There's a bunch of books along with some cuticle care products lined up on a shelf, and Pokédolls on top of a made bed. A sensation that you're being watched fills you, but the absence of light could be tricking your mind. Without another thought, you toss your Pokégear on the bed and strip yourself bare from all of your soaked clothes—apart from your underwear, even if it _is_ albeit uncomfortable—Guzma's sweatpants are at least two sizes too big for you and the sleeves of his shirt reach past your elbows. Well, beggars can't be choosers.

Outside, you could hear the rain getting even stronger, each drop a loud prick on the windows. You click your tongue in annoyance, wondering how on Earth you're going to get back to the hotel now. But, instead of moping about your current situation, you choose to inspect the room. It's really strange how it's in ship shape, and you ponder whether or not Guzma might be rooming here. But from the nail polish on the book shelf and the Pokédolls, you don't think that's the case (unless that's his thing). You peer over to the desk right next to the bed and take note of the various crumpled pieces of paper scattered on the surface. There's even an uncapped pen that's almost going to roll off the edge of the desk. Intrigued, you smoothen out one of the papers.

 

 

_hey plumes._

_i just wanted to tell you that im really sorry for everything._  
_its been 2 years. i hope youve already found it in your heart to ~~furgi~~  forgive me. _  
_ill be waiting at_

 

 

The writer probably specified a location, but it was blacked out with ink, and from the looks of it, they got frustrated and abandoned the letter. You investigate the other papers on the desk, and they contain the same message, just with varying wording. 

The sound of the door creaking on its hinges causes the hairs on the back of your neck to stand. Your head snaps behind you, and you feel a little relieved to see that it's just Guzma. From the look on his face, you anticipate that he'd comment about your snooping around, but instead he says:

"You didn't notice the ghost Pokémon that's in here?"

Your heart stops. "You're joking, right?"

He shakes his head. "I'll show you. Mimikyu! Not introducing yourself to our guest isn't nice."

"Kyu~"

All of a sudden, the room seems darker, and something is coming from underneath the bed. At first glance, it seems like a rag is emerging, but when you blink a few more times, it looks like a.... Pikachu? Wait, no... It's just a Pikachu _costume_.

"I am confused," you tell Guzma.

He chortles. "He really does look like that."

You narrow your eyes at the peculiar Pokémon and kneel down to get a closer look. The childlike scribbles on its face are incredibly bizarre, but the zigzag it has for a mouth is especially putting you off, for some reason. You turn to Guzma. "Uh, is that really a costume or...?"

"Yeah. It's a costume. If you look underneath it though, you'll die."

You scowl. "You can't be serious."

"I am though," he shrugs before crouching down. "C'mon, buddy."

"Mimikyu~"

Mimikyu walks over to Guzma and hops into his awaiting arms. Wait.... Did you just see a black hand propel Mimikyu into Guzma's arms?

"Most people would just leave ghost Pokémon be right? It's different with Mimikyu," he explains while petting Mimikyu's Pikachu head. "When that rumor about a scholar dying when he saw what was underneath a Mimikyu's costume spread, they were practically shunned. That's why you see so few of these guys nowadays; they're hiding because they don't want to be hated."

There's a mild wringing sensation in your chest upon hearing that. Mimikyus don't deserve that. How is it their fault that a scholar died when he peeked underneath the costume? For all he knew, the Mimikyu just felt violated and killed him. 

You and Guzma sit there in the silence for a while, and you come to realize that this is the first time you've actually been alone with him. You sneak a glance, while he's occupied with talking to Mimikyu. Through the faint light of your Pokégear, you can make out the darkening roots of his hair. Huh. So his hair isn't really white? Your eyes begin to trail south. He's wearing a green button up and shorts, which looks like a weird outfit, but he looks good in it nonetheless. 

"You've got a lot of Pokémon here, huh?" you try striking up a conversation.

He turns to face you with a look that implies that he didn't expect you to talk to him. "Most of them aren't really my Pokémon. Whenever a stray manages to wander in town, I take them in. I can't just leave 'em alone in the rain. I don't claim them, though. I only battle with bug types."

"Huh? You wouldn't battle with a Bagon that could turn into a badass Salamance?"

"Says the person who can't even get her own Salamence to listen to her."

There's a pause in your conversation, and as much as you'd like to continue your lighthearted banter, there's another thing that's grating at your curiosity.

"Did you....write those letters?" 

He looks at you like you just asked the dumbest question ever. "Who else would've written it?"

"How am I supposed to know? I wasn't even aware that there's a Mimikyu inside of this room. For all I know, you could have other housemates that I'm yet to know of."

Guzma frowns at the mention of housemates and he falls silent for a while. 

"You know, I used to have a lot of them. Teenagers running 'round the place like mice. They were a god damn pain to deal with, but I kinda miss 'em now." His tone sounds so forlorn, it kind of makes you feel a bit downcast, too. You didn't really expect someone with Guzma's build to wear his emotions on his sleeve. 

"Hey. Do you know anything about me?" he asks out of nowhere.

You don a confused look. "Uh, besides the fact that you're my soulmate, nothing much."

Guzma sighs and releases Mimikyu, who retreats back under the bed. "Have you heard about this old band of criminal-wannabes called Team Skull?" 

Team Skull.... The name sounds familiar, but you can't remember where you heard it from. You rack your brain for a few minutes before eventually giving up. 

"I swear I heard that before," you tell Guzma.  

"Well, for starters, they used to live here. They drove the rich out of Po Town and made it their own base for a while. This very house here was where they slept."

You snap your fingers. "I remember now. The nurse at Heahea City told me that they disbanded years ago. But, if they invaded this place and you're the one who lives here..... Does that mean they drove you out? What about the teenagers you lived with? What happened?" 

Guzma laughs. "No, no. I wasn't the one who was evicted. I was the one who personally kicked those rich snobs out of town."

You let his words sink in. "You were part of Team Skull?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, no. At least you're not doing anything nasty anymore... Pray tell what did you guys do? Did you steal Pokémon? Did you round up all the Legendary Pokémon in the region to use them for nefarious purposes? Did you get crushed by an eleven year-old Trainer with an insanely strong team?"

"Two out of three of those are true. We can't really do anything about the Tapus. They already annihalated us once."

You crane your head. "Tapus?"

Guzma drags a hand over his face and groans. "Do you seriously not know anything about Alola?" 

"In case you didn't know, I was in a coma for a week. I couldn't exactly do my research."

He rolls his eyes. "Tapus are the guardian deities of each island on Alola. There are four islands," he emphasises this by putting up four fingers on his right hand. "Therefore, four Tapus." To your annoyance, he holds up another four fingers on his left hand, as if he's explaining Alolan legends to a preschooler. 

"The Tapus are in charge of keeping everything in order on their home island. But since they can't do it alone, they choose certain people that they think can handle being some sort of leader. Those are the kahunas. I'm pretty sure you know what they are right?"

You nod.

"Good. Where was I.... Oh, right. A couple years ago, when some of my friends and I... Caused uh, some mass mischief, the Tapus weren't really happy about it and beat us all down. But a few years later, Team Skull was born, and even the Tapus couldn't stop us."

"Huh... If you guys were so powerful, why did you split up?" 

There it is again. That look of utter misery. Does Team Skull mean that much to him? "W-Well, the boss thought it was for the best. So, we went our separate ways. Oh, you know, it's getting kinda late. Can we just continue this tomorrow?" Guzma stands up and dusts off his clothes. "You can sleep here, if you want. It's pretty much the least trashy room I can offer you."

"Who's Plumes?" 

He goes completely rigid at the mention of that name, as if its something that shouldn't be discussed out loud. But before you can scrutinize him more, his expression diffuses into something less tense. "Ah, right. You were reading through my junk mail. Well, Plumes is actually short for Plumeria and.... She used to be my best friend. But since I fucked some things up along the way, she hates me now."

You stand up quickly. "Is she really your best friend if she didn't even try to understand your reasons?" you ask him. "I mean, we all fuck up at some point in our lives, right? She should have been the one who understood you the most, no matter what the hell you did."

"I ask myself that a lot, too. I mean, yeah, she still keeps in touch from time to time but.... She hates me," he says, but his gaze is fixed on the Pokédolls on the bed. After a while, he turns to look at you. "I'll be going now."

But before he could turn around towards the door, you grab his wrist. "Don't go." The words come out without a second thought. "Please."

For a moment, Guzma genuinely looks concerned, but it evenually dissolves into a sneer. "Is this little dragon tamer afraid of the dark?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. I didn't expect you to admit so easily. Aren't dragons proud creatures?"

"Aren't bugs easy to step on?"

"I'd like to see you try. Plus, if you step on me, no one will be with you in this old, dark house anymore. Take your pick."

You groan. "You're insufferable." 

He grins. "Too bad you're stuck with me forever."

You're sure he meant that as a joke, but it's like your heart is doing backflips in your chest. Suddenly, you're glad that there's no good source of light here because he would've seen how red you are in the face. 

"S-So, how are we gonna do this?" you inquire, trying to divert the topic.

He smirks. "If you wanted my body all along, all you had to do was say so."

"No, you dolt! I meant who's sleeping on the floor, and who's sleeping on the bed."

"No way am I sleeping on the floor. Let's just sleep together."

"We won't fit with all those dolls on the bed, genius."

"The dolls can sleep on the floor. Mimikyu will be thrilled."

"You want to harass me so badly."

"I would never harass someone as pretty as you, girlie."

Fuck. There it is again. Heart backflips.

"What? Is calling my soulmate pretty, bad?" Guzma questions. 

"Ugh! Fine. I'll let you sleep next to me. But no funny business, okay?" 

"Yeah, yeah. Now quit being a prude and help me remove some of the dolls."

The two of you proceed to place the Pokédolls on the floor. Guzma was right about Mimikyu enjoying the dolls' company, since he already crawled out of the bed once more to interact with them. Sadly, he doesn't get any responses in return, for obvious reasons.

"There. We'll fit perfectly," Guzma gestures at the bed. Without the dolls crowding it, you could see that there are two pillows but no blankets. Hesitantly, you grab your Pokégear and crawl over to the side of the bed next to the wall. The mattress feels kind of hard, but from the exhaustion in your bones, you're pretty sure you'll pass out on top of it anyway. You test out the pillows and, thankfully, they're as soft as a Pidgeot's mane. 

Guzma unceremoniously jumps on the bed, and the frame creaks from the force. Before you could say anything about it, he's already engulfing you in an embrace. This does not help you aid the palpitations in your chest.

"No blankets? Problem solved," he mumbles against your hair. You could feel the warmth of his breath against your skin. And the heat his body emits makes you feel...safe. He isn't showing any signs of letting go, so eventually, you loosen up and begin to drift into slumber. 

But as you tether between consciousness and sleep, something pops into your mind—a memory from that night you met Guzma. It's not something you recall in full detail, but you vaguely remember that thief with neon hair calling Guzma "boss".

Before you can delve further into it, you've already fallen asleep in his arms.

 

* * *

 

There's something off about Red. 

Blue can't exactly pinpoint what it is, since his rival has been an enigmatic presence ever since they were children, but this is different, somehow. A lot has happened in the past week—he got married, (Name) fell into a mysterious coma, he got a few calls from his former colleagues back in the Kanto region, begging him and Red to return immediately, for some reason they couldn't quite share during the phone call—and Blue initially decided that Red is simply being overwhelmed by the chain of events. But he isn't one that's easily swayed by anything in particular. So when Red begins a new streak of holing himself up in various dangerous locations in Alola, it more or less starts to bother Blue. Just this morning, right after he saw off Daisy and his grandfather in Melemele Island for their departure back to Kanto, a feeling of absolute dread filled his chest. It's the same sensation that always spiked his heart whenever Red is in some sort of impending danger. Right on time, he got a call from a very irritated Nanu, telling him to "clean up his mess". Before he could ask the kahuna to elaborate what exactly his mess is, Nanu had already dropped the call. Blue immediately flew over to the Po Town Police Station to meet up with him, but instead, he's greeted by a colony of Meowths and none other than Acerola.

"If you're looking for Uncle Nanu, he's in the Haina Desert," she informed Blue while stroking the head of one of the Meowths. "He called me to keep watch over these guys because he had something to deal with. Hmm... I'm pretty sure he mentioned something about a rogue trainer possibly angering Tapu Bulu? I'm not really sure..."

Blue barely had the time to thank the trial captain, since he's already out of the Meowth-infested building and calling a ride. The Charizard he paged must've sensed his haste, and thankfully zipped through the sky at a breakneck speed. When they got closer to the desert, he told Charizard to drop him off at the Ruins of Abundance. Just his luck, he could spot two figures. The person with greying hair was undoubtedly Nanu, himself, while the other one was laying face first in the sand; what seems to be a fainted Pokémon laid a few feet away. Blue nearly flung himself off the Charizard for not recognizing Red right away. How can he not identify his own husband even if he _was_  face-planted on the sand?

"Took you long enough," Nanu grumbled when Blue dismounted his ride. "I thought I was done for, but then he passed out. His Pokémon along with him." He vaguely gestured at the unconscious Pikachu next to Red. Blue eyed the scene with apprehension. The stones lining up the entrance to the ruins were in a state of, well.... _ruin,_ and he completely got why Tapu Bulu might get pissed off at that, but...

"What the hell did you do to him?" He snarled at Nanu.

He shrugged. "Put him in his place. He was annihilating the resident Pokémon in the desert for reasons only God knows of. Training in Haina is perfectly fine. On normal circumstances, I'd tell him to go crazy, but not crazy in a sense that you destroy the whole place."

"What?"

"You heard me right. He was attacking everything and everyone like it's nobody's business. Some of the people I keep stationed here rang me up and I investigated what was happening. The next thing I knew, we were locked in a Pokémon battle." He paused for a moment and stared wistfully at the ruin entrance. "I took out most of his Pokémon with a Krookodile. But that kid's no joke at all. He gave me a damn hard time." Nanu narrated what transpired in a way that suggests that he's exhausted, but Blue could also hear the voice of an island kahuna that's been disturbed from his morning rituals with his Meowths in the midst of his weariness.

Blue knelt next to him and removed his hat—that stupid hat that he's always had a knack for wearing—and fanned him with it. Red seemed to respond to this ever so minimally when his lips parted for a groan. Blue lost the tension in his shoulders once he confirmed that Red is still alive and breathing. He got up to haul him away from the glaring sun and into the shade cast by the taller rocks. After, he walked over to carry his Pikachu back into its owner's lap. Blue gazed at the two of them with a sigh, before kneeling down in front of Red once again to caress his face. It's a gesture that Red would have flinched away from if he was conscious, but Blue couldn't help it. The dread in his chest from earlier already dispersed and has been replaced by an inexplicable warmth. 

Blue could hear Nanu call his attention. "When you're done ogling your husband over there, can you tell me why he just happened to, oh I don't know, cause a rampage out of nowhere?" 

He stared at Nanu and strange enough, the first thought that popped into his mind was questioning how on Earth Nanu managed to stand toe-to-toe against Red, much more, defeat him. Did Nanu really have that much strength? Maybe it was because Red's Pokémon were already worn out to begin with? Or maybe there was a sandstorm earlier, and since Nanu mentioned using a Krookodile, a ground type, the kahuna had the advantage? Or perhaps it's because you shouldn't fuck with an island kahuna that's been ripped away from his daily routine. 

"Well?" he stared at Blue expectantly, and the younger man nearly forgot that Nanu asked him a question. 

Blue contemplated for a good while. He's been with Red long enough to know that he would rather express himself through the way he fought his battles instead of actually saying something. He never really outgrew the silence, but that's what makes him Red. Blue didn't want to tell Nanu, but if he remembered correctly, Red only ever battled like a madman when he's upset over something. What that was, he's yet to know.

A defeated sigh escaped his lips. "I'll just get him back to Poni. I'm really sorry for disrupting your morning, Nanu."

Nanu rolled his eyes. "After dealing with those misguided Team Skull thugs, nothing really surprises me anymore."

When Blue paged a Charizard, he managed to sling Red on its back. He made sure to tell the Charizard not to be reckless in flight, since he's carrying an unconscious body, as well. 

The roar of the wind on the way back was almost defeaning. Blue found this strange, since the breeze was relatively calm when he was flying from the police station. But he didn't pay it much of a notion, and simply got lost in his own thoughts as they made their way back to Poni Island. Through the howling wind, Blue failed to hear what Red has mumbled in his slumber.

"'m....not....happy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, write tonight edit tomorrow. Strangely, I'm always more productive at night. But happy october, everyone! We've all got three more months to get our shit together!!!!! So here i am with the sixth chapter and waow it's longer because the past two updates have been unsatisfyingly short. 
> 
> But holy shit can i just talk about how much I love mimikyu? Not only is his typing somewhat unique, but his ability, disguise works so damn well with my pokemon sun team. ~~Although when i was battling totem mimikyu i almost fucking lost~~ Mimikyu is really cool and i dont really pay much attention to IVs and EVs but Play Rough really does some continental damage.
> 
> Anyways, yall know how it goes: feedback and your thoughts are all appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

You're a firm believer that the best kind of slumber to rouse from is the kind when the morning air is almost freezing and you're engulfed in the comfort of thick blankets; when the warmth that your body tries to emit against the confines of your comforter is enough to lull you back to sleep. However, this is not the way you wake up today. You're conscious even before you open your eyes, and you don't feel like you're in your mother's home in Snowpoint City, but instead you feel like you've woken up on a spring morning in Blackthorn City. However, you do feel a little cold.

When you do crack your eyes open, a surge of momentary panic fills you, since you've just woken up in an unfamiliar room. Dozens of questions spring up in your mind, but that's until you recall the events that transpired last night: another heated argument with Clair, flying over to Po Town, your Charmeleon getting knocked out, staying in Guzma's house, talking with Guzma, sleeping with Guzma, Guzma, Guzma, Guzma—

Like a slap to the face, you realize that you've woken up alone on a cold mattress, without the body of a certain six-footer keeping you warm. Upon realizing your longing for Guzma, you immediately feel like a blushing school girl.

_Why are you sulking just because he isn't here? It's not like he owes you a good morning kiss or anything._

The mental image of a disheveled, bleary-eyed Guzma reaching over to caress your face pops up in your head. He would sport a lazy grin and come closer until you could feel his breath on your face. He doesn't strike you as a vehement lover, so he would simply settle with an innocent peck on the cheek, especially when he's still groggy from sleep. 

"Mornin'," he'd say with a sexy morning voice. You'd look into his eyes and you feel like his stare is caressing your whole body. His eyes are what you like the most about him, you think. You could only imagine how that steel gray would glint from the sunlight filtering from the bedroom window.

You blink. Sunlight? In _Po Town?_

You quicky scramble to get up on your knees just to take a peek from the window. Outside, the sun is definitely up, and the clear sky makes you wonder if the storm was just a dream. You can see various Pokémon playing inside an unfilled pool at the side of the mansion that you failed to notice last night. It's quite damp from the rain, but that apparently didn't stop the little rascals from running about. A Salamence is lifting its tail up and down while a bunch of baby Pokémon like Jigglypuff and Pancham latch onto it (It takes a while for you to realize that it's _your_ Salamence). An Alolan Meowth seems to be minding its own business, perched on one of the hand rails of the gazebo, until the Bagon from yesterday decides that it's funny to push it off from its precarious position. The Pokémon lets out an annoyed screech before proceeding to chase the Bagon around the area. 

Unconsciously, you feel around the pockets of Guzma's sweatpants for your Pokéballs, and thankfully, they're still there, along with your Pokégear. For a moment, you ponder on what to do, which is kind of difficult when you realize that you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. You get up from the bed and lace up your shoes, deciding that you should look for Guzma first. Before leaving, though, you peek under the bed and greet Mimikyu a good morning, to which he replies with a gleeful cry. 

The interior of the house doesn't look as threatening as it did when you were cowering with fear in the darkness. The walls are the same shade of faded pink from the room you slept in, and the carpeted floor is an unsaturated maroon, with a visible amount of dust. You begin striding across the hallway, peering over the edge of the staircase to see the empty living room. All the Pokémon are probably outside, basking in the warmth of the morning. But when you look ahead, you flinch at the glare of the sun coming from the balcony. There, you could spot Guzma....hanging his clothes? His Golisopod is even holding up the laundry basket for him. With a crease in your brow, you approach him.

"Oh, you're up," Guzma points out while taking a shirt with a Gyarados on it to hang it on the clothesline. "Huh, this reminds me, weren't you wearing a Magikarp one-piece the night we met?"

You can feel your face grow warmer. "S-So what if I was?"

He shrugs. "Cute coincidence, I guess. Oi, stop chewing that, buddy. It's my favorite shirt!" 

Guzma yanks an olive t-shirt from Golisopod's mouth but he refuses to give Guzma the shirt. After a few moments of tug-of-war, the sound of tearing fabric grates at your nerves, and Guzma proceeds to kneel on the floor to gape at his torn shirt. You give it a quick glance and see a faded print on the front saying, "Bug Dealer" with a thug-looking Beedrill that seems like it's looking for a fight. For some reason, you completely understand why that would be Guzma's favorite shirt.

You suppose that Golisopod can't have easily identifiable expressions, but you're pretty sure that he's guilty. Guzma, on the other hand, seems like he's trying hard not to lash out on his beloved Pokémon. He succeeds in this when he simply tosses the ruined garment back in the basket and pets Golisopod's head. He sighs. "It's only a shirt. It's fine."

Golisopod seems to take that to heart and cries out happily (you could tell that he's happy but the sound of a shrieking humanoid bug just puts you on edge). 

"Your clothes are already dry, by the way," Guzma informs you, while clipping the last of his laundry. "You look cute in my clothes, but I think you'd prefer better-smelling ones, am I right?"

You try not to let that comment get to you. "Um, thanks. Why are you suddenly doing your laundry?"

He stares at you blankly before gesturing at the sky.

"Oh right," you say dumbly. "Sunlight is scarce. But, what the hell? Didn't you say there was a storm last night?"

"There was. Hell if I know why the sun suddenly shone on Po Town. Maybe it's because we got a ray of sunshine right here," he laughs. "You."

 

* * *

 

Much to your surprise, Guzma is actually a decent cook. He prepared you a simple meal of bacon, eggs, and orange juice, but the flavour is pretty unique from all the bacon, eggs, and orange juices you've tried in your travels. The two of you are seated at the gazebo, watching your Pokémon and Guzma's strays engage each other. Guzma even took the liberty to fill the swimming pool again just so you can finally let out your Gyarados, who you haven't used for weeks. She dons the usual, menacing look of a Gyarados, but you're more than aware that she's quite mad that you haven't used her in a while. When you promised to take her to the Battle Tree sometime, she simply splashed your face with water.

As you wolf down your meal, you manage to engage Guzma in small talk. It's just like your everyday conversation about house maintenance and budgets. It feels so normal. You find out that he provides for all the Pokémon he has under his care, and himself. Also, he immensely prides himself for his ability to concoct lots of strange dishes with Pokémon food.

"I can cook, but I can't clean for my life," he sighs. "Have you seen this damn house? Every time I try to clean up, I break something. So it's better to leave everything as it is."

You look at him strangely. "Where do you shop for food, though?"

"I go to the Thrifty Megamart every two weeks or so," he says. "About five kilograms of Pokémon food, two dozen eggs, some fruits and vegetables, instant noodles, and the occasional bacon if I can afford it." 

You take a piece of bacon in your mouth. "Hm, what do you do for a living again?"

He stills, but responds. "Do you know about this place called the Aether Foundation?"

"Do you expect me to?"

"No. Anyway, they're this organization on the pursuit of scientific knowledge about Pokémon yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm basically there as their, uh, lab rat, I guess. They pay me for it." 

Your eyes narrow. "Isn't that a bit shady?"

"Some people do more dishonorable things for money, you know?" 

You wish to question him more about his choice of...profession, but you know better than to stick your nose up someone else's business. Besides, he looks like he doesn't want to be pestered about it anymore. Instead, you ask if he's taken up the island challenges when he was young.

"Yeah. Have you met Kukui? I took on the challenges with him," he smiles, as if recalling a good memory. "But when we both tried to be trial captains, we were both shot down. I still don't get it up until this day." He sits there in a contemplative rage for a while, but he manages to regain his composure. "But I don't really care about it anymore. I'm pretty good with my life right now anyway."

Aaaand you don't believe him. You've barely grazed the tip of the iceberg, but you're smart enough to conclude that Guzma is not happy with his life. You mentally list the misfortunes you know about him: one, he's holed up in this mansion where it probably rains six months a year or more; two, he has no one else as company other than his own Pokémon and some strays; three, his best friend hates him; four, he used to be part of Team Skull, so he's probably hated by more people than he bargained for; five, he's a fucking lab rat. And you could only imagine the other problems he has that he doesn't wish to let you know of. 

"Y'know, what? Every time we talk, it's always about me. I know zero shit about you."

"You know I'm a dragon tamer," you point out.

He gives you a dirty look. 

"Alright, alright. What do you want to know?"

"Where are you from?"

"Uh, I'm from Johto, but my mom lives in Sinnoh. I actually just came back from there a few weeks ago..."

"Why dragon types?"

"Well, my parents weren't really married. When I was just a kid, my dad took me back with him to Blackthorn City. He's part of the clan of dragon masters, and he raised me to be one, too."

"That's where you met your friends?"

"Yeah. I've been with Clair and Lance all my life."

"Why were you called the wandering dragon master, or whatever?"

"Means what it says. I just travel around, training my own way. I never take on the gyms and the Elite Four. I don't really think that kind of stuff is an accurate measurement of a trainer's strength. And believe it or not, I've met a lot of trainers like me. I mean, there's nothing bad with taking on the Pokémon League or anything. I just don't think it's enough. There are people stronger than a region's champion, you know."

Guzma nods attentively, taking into account everything you're saying. This flatters you, somehow.

"What's it like? Being able to see new places other than the ones you're used to?" His tone holds such wonder, it's almost adorable. 

You raise a brow. "You haven't been out of the region yet?"

"Do I look like someone who has been to other regions?"

You shrug. "Well, every region is unique. I've only been to four though. Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh," you tell him as you count off each region on your fingers. "I'm planning on going to Unova next. But anyway, what entices me the most about the regions are the legends. When I left for Sinnoh, I stayed there for nearly two years, just studying about the region's legendary Pokémon with their champion, Cynthia." You lower your voice. "Um, remember that bit when I said there are people stronger than a region's champion? Well, Cynthia is probably the toughest one I faced, so she doesn't count." 

"I bet I'm stronger than her," Guzma huffs.

"Don't push your luck, wise guy. Beat me first before dreaming of beating her."

He simpers. "Is that a challenge?"

"You know, I think Gyarados needs a little stretching out," you flash him a provocative smile.

The prideful look he dons remains on his face as he starts walking out of the gazebo, you following closely behind. Guzma proceeds to occupy the far end of the swimming pool, and tosses out an ultra ball with Golisopod in it. The humanoid Pokémon cries out, making its presence known before becoming half-submerged in the pool. Guzma's strays stay away from the pool, as if knowing what's about to take place. Your Salamence flies over to you and huffs, expecting that he's the one you'll be using in battle. You pat his head. "Sorry, bud. It's Gyarados' time to shine." 

To your surprise, he doesn't seem to get mad and proceeds to stomp over to the gazebo behind you. Gyarados looks at you questioningly and you grin. "You wanted a battle, right?"

She lets out a fierce roar that makes the hairs on your neck stand up, but it's a good kind of chill. "All right then. Let's start it off with Aqua Tail!"

Gyarados lunges at its opponent swiftly to slam her tail into Golisopod's armored body, and you half-expect it to not to much damage, since he has quite a sturdy defense, from the looks of it. However, when Gyarados comes into contact with the bug Pokémon, Golisopod doesn't even flinch. Guzma laughs from the other side of the makeshift arena. 

"Hitting a water type with Aqua Tail isn't really clever, you know," he taunts. 

You freeze. "A water type?"

"How do you think he managed to use Razor Shell on your Charmeleon, huh? Golisopod, First Impression!"

Golisopod slams into Gyarados with a terrifying force that creates waves in the pool. Sweat begins to trickle at the side of your face from your nervousness. A bug-water type is hard to deal with, especially with Gyarados. You assumed all this time that Golisopod was half rock or steel type, but not _water_. Damn that arrogance of yours for thinking you can win this easily. You shake your head and focus ahead. This is just an inconvenient type disadvantage. You've been in this kind of situation before. Besides, you still have that one trick up your sleeve, but you decide to save it for later. With a deep breath, you yell out the next move.  "Rain Dance!"

Gyarados roars into the sky and overhead, you can see clouds begin to form. Droplets of rain fall on your face upon completion of the Rain Dance, and you can already hear Guzma yelling in annoyance before he even opens his mouth. 

"Maaaaan, really? Don't you even care about my fucking laundry? You ain't aiding my advocacy here!"

You shrug. "All's fair in love and war."

"God damn you, honestly! Leech Life!"

Golisopod propels himself in the water and latches himself onto Gyarados' neck with its unnerving teeth. She thrashes around, obviously not appreciating her blood being drained. After flailing about, she manages to detach the armored Pokémon from her body, and Golisopod comes flying toward you, and you would've been hit with solid bug armor in the face if Salamence hadn't pushed you into the pool. The shock paralyzes you for a moment, but you swim back up onto the surface once you get ahold of your senses. You gasp for a breath of air, which is quite hard because the drizzle from Gyarados' Rain Dance has gotten stronger. You frantically scan around for Golisopod, and see that hee's lying on top of your Salamence who doesn't look too happy with being slammed into and is trying to crunch through Golisopod's exoskeleton. From the distance, you can see that Guzma's eyes are wide with fear and Gyarados looks incredibly worn out. Your brows scrunch up, but then you realize that you might be underestimating Golisopod too much. That Leech Life seemed to take its toll on her. 

However, you take Guzma's state of shock into account, and issue your final command. "Gyarados, Hurricane!"

A gust of wind picks up in the area, but then a tornado descends from the clouds and strikes down at Golisopod with a deafening howl. Unfortunately, Salamence doesn't escape the onslaught and gets caught in the tornado, as well. You bite your lip from the guilt, whispering an apology to Salamence, who basically just saved your life. When the gale calms down, the two Pokémon land in the swimming pool, causing an enormous splash that sends you skidding back towards the gazebo. You groan in pain as you try to get up, but you managed the force of the splash managed to get you a tear in your leggings. _Damn. Guzma just washed these._

"God fucking damn it, are you okay?" 

You blink away the water in your eyes to see Guzma running towards you. He crouches down and places his hands on your shoulders. "Shit. _Shit_. I'm sorry."

Strangely enough, you're the one who's soaked to the bone, but he's the one who's shaking. You're convinced that he's not aware of how close he is to your face, but you don't have it in you to point it out because he looks so, so scared. 

"Oh God. I'm so stupid. I got carried away, shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshit."

The next thing you know, his arms are already around you, and his face is buried in the crook of your neck. Your gaze remains straight ahead, and you can see Salamence and Golisopod floating in the pool, fainted, while Gyarados swims around, still confused with what happened. Your hands lay limp at your sides, unsure if you should return Guzma's gesture. But, fuck, this man is trembling so badly, you nervously embrace him. Your touch seems to ease his distress ever so minimally, but you can feel the skin of your neck getting wet, and you're not sure if it's from being thrown in the pool or Guzma's crying. 

You're not good at comforting people—shit, how do you comfort a grown man that's crying because his Golisopod almost smashed you in the face?—but you're pretty sure reassurance is the first step to doing so. "It's not your fault, Guzma. Besides, I'm fine! Really. Just tore up my leggings is all..."

His sobs cease as he tears away from you. Guzma's eyes are a little puffy and tears are evident on his face. His gaze bores into your own in such an intimate manner, you feel something coiling at the pit of your stomach. You try to identify what he must be feeling right now. You assume that normally, one wouldn't react that drastically when their soulmate almost gets hit with a gargantuan bug, so you conclude that he either cares about you oh-so much or he must've had some form of psychological trauma in the past. 

He stares into nothingness for a good few minutes, and you figure that you best keep the silence. While waiting for a reaction from him, you decide to check on the tear in your leggings, because you kind of feel a mild stinging sensation coming from your thigh. Upon further inspection, you come to realize that there's an ugly gash on your thigh that doesn't look too deep, but it's enough to make you bleed a little. You dab the wound with your fingers and you notice tiny white splotches in your blood. You attempt to take a closer look, but Guzma suddenly speaks to you.

"I'm not usually like that. I swear," he tells you too quickly.

You crane your head in confusion and chuckle. "It's okay, you goof. Kinda warmed my heart when you hugged me...."

His eyes widen at your words and, fuck, you said that out loud didn't you?

You clear your throat. "Uh, so are we gonna agree not to use the pool as an arena anymore?"

He smiles. "Agreed." 

 

* * *

 

After Guzma helps you patch up your thigh, lets you borrow another pair of sweatpants—smaller ones this time—and heals your Pokémon, you tell him that you need to get back to your hotel. He seems hesitant to let you go, but doesn't utter a protest when you page a Charizard Glider. Before you mount on the Pokémon, however, he pulls you into a tight embrace and whispers, "I had fun. See you soon" in your ear. 

When you get back to the hotel, you're greeted by a weird-looking, but surprisingly attractive man in a lab coat before you can even get into the lobby.

"Ah, excuse me, mademoiselle, but was that a Charizard you were riding now? Is it yours?" he asks in a sultry tone and a weird accent.

You look at him strangely. "Um, yeah, it's a Charizard, but it isn't mine."

He strokes his non-existent beard. "Oh, but you seem like a person who would do well with a Charizard, are you not?"

"...I have a Charmeleon so I guess you could say that?" _What is with this guy?_

"Sacré bleu! I have found the person I was looking for—a budding Charizard tamer! Here, here, please take this as a token of my appreciation." He produces something from his lab coat and hands it to you. You take it hesitantly, but scan the circular object with curious eyes. "What's this?" you inquire. 

He smiles, and this strangely sends tingles across your skin. "Ah, this is what you call a Mega Stone. When you make a Pokémon wear this, it'll be able to Mega Evolve! That one right there is called a Charizardite X. Here, you can place the Mega Stone in the hollowed out spot in this collar and make your Charmeleon wear it when he evolves into a Charizard," he hands you a silver collar with a circular hollow spot where the stone would probably fit. "This stone is for you," he then gives you a smaller and iridescent version of the Charizardite X. "You have one of those Z-Rings, do you not? You place that in your Z-Ring so you can be able to call upon your Pokémon's Mega Evolution. Mega Stones are rare, but you can find them all over the place in Alola. It's exactly why I came here," he laughs.

"Not all Pokémon can Mega Evolve, but when they do, your power will reach what was originally thought as impossible. Now, I must go, mademoiselle. Au revoir, and may you have successful battles!" The strange man proceeds to walk away like he didn't just impart to you the strangest information you've heard all day. 

_He didn't even give me his name..._

Brushing off all thoughts of that strange man, you proceed to get back to your hotel room, but as you pace closer and closer, you get even more nervous. Are they still in the hotel room? Is Clair still mad at you? What would Lance say? 

When you open the door, you sigh in relief to see that Lance is sitting idly on his bed, petting the Eevee that you left behind. 

"Eev!" She jumps off Lance's lap to greet you. You laugh and scoop her up in your arms to baby her. 

"I'm sorry I left you behind, girl," you coo, but it seems that Eevee doesn't seem the least bit bothered about her temporary abandonment.

"Hey," Lance greets with a somewhat melancholic smile.

"Hey. Why are you still here?"

"There was a storm last night. The harbor got all messed up and they aren't having any trips back to Johto or Kanto until next week. So basically we're stuck here."

You let out a deep breath. "Where's Clair?"

"Training her Jangmo-o."

Silence passes over the two of you, and you can honestly say that this is the first time you've had an incredibly dry and awkward conversation with Lance. Being the ever-perceptive person that he is, picks up on the uncomfortable atmosphere and proceeds to walk over to the door. You stride towards your bed, without a word and lay your Eevee on top of it. She yips at you happily. At least one of you doesn't feel awkward at all.

"I'll be training, too," Lance announces. "You should talk to Clair."

The sound of the door shutting echoes in your head, and once again you're alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all probably guessed that my favourite region is the Sinnoh region, since there's always references to it in ALL my guzma stories. And lo and behold, guess who just made their debut in this book? I'm crying I actually don't have a good grasp on Professor Sycamore's personality, but I'm pretty sure he likes to throw around the occasional French phrase or two in his sentences. Anyways, for the first time, I didn't write this in the middle of the night wooo lord. And yall know how it goes - comments, kudos, and a will to live are highly appreciated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, since I'm on break from school for a week, I've got enough time to write, yay~ Happy reading!

Resigning yourself to the fact that you are not on good terms with both of your closest friends, you've decided to buy a whole tub of ice cream at a nearby convenience store to alleviate yourself from your current problems (there's nothing a full one gallon of calories can't fix). But just when you were about to pop the container open, your Pokégear—how is this thing still alive?—starts ringing. As you sink further into the sofa, you contemplate whether or not you should answer, but considering that it might be someone important, you set the tub of ice cream on the coffee table with a groan. 

"Hello?" you try not to sound as irritated as you actually are.

A familiar voice you couldn't quite give a face to greets, "Alola, cousin!" 

"Uh, who's this?"

"Oh, right! You didn't have my number registered. It's Kukui."

"...Professor? What's up?"

"Well, Professor Oak seemed to be in a hurry to go back to Kanto, so he left me with a few things to do. The first is to upgrade your Pokédex so you can start filling it. Can you meet me by my lab at Route 1?"

You raise an eyebrow at that because you nearly forgot that Professor Oak tasked you with filling the Alola Pokédex. All the events up until now probably pushed that one thing further down your to-do list. 

"Oh. Sure. I'll be there soon." 

"Thanks, (Name)!"

"No problem, Professor."

You end the call and shove your Pokégear in the back pocket of Guzma's sweatpants. A longing stare is cast at the ice cream on the table. It might need to wait to be consumed a little while more, so you grab it and walk over to the mini fridge in the far corner of the room. Stuffing it in the freezer is a bit more heartbreaking than parting ways with—

You mentally slap yourself.  _Nope_ , s _top thinking about him._  

 

* * *

  

Your eyes are full of apprehension as you scan the rickety house by the Melemele Sea—it's still in tact, but barely. It's as if the house itself was chewed on by a Pokémon, and instead of having it completely repaired, the owner simply connected the broken pieces of the maroon bannister with slabs of plywood. If you were to put it into an analogy, it's basically like he put a band-aid on a broken arm. 

You climb up the steps, making sure not to put your weight into it too much, and knock on the door. A tiny bark can be heard from inside that's followed by a scold. The barking ceases and the door opens, revealing the strangest Pokémon Professor you ever met. 

"Hey there, (Name)!" he greets with a smile. "Come on in."

The Professor's lab is another gem you shouldn't judge by its outside appearance. Even if it looks as if the house might collapse any moment from the outside, the inside is just...wow. 

A furry Pokémon breaks your train of thought with a series of barks. Its fangs are bared, obviously not appreciating your presence.

"Rockruff, no," Kukui scolds before turning to you. "You got your Dex with you?"

You tear your eyes away from the impressive aquarium and rummage through the backpack you brought along for your Pokédex. When you fish it out of the bag, you gaze at it longingly. It's been years since you first set out on your journey to travel the different regions, but the very first Pokédex that you received from Professor Elm is, miraculously, still in tact (though sometimes, it lags so badly you can't register the Pokémon you recently catch anymore). You hand it to Professor Kukui, who seems to be impressed at its seemingly pristine condition.

"Follow me. This'll only take a minute," he smiles before stalking over downstairs to a lower level. You eye him curiously but shrug and follow suit.

Upon descending, you figure out that the aquarium upstairs is connected to the one here, and that amazes you more than it should. A Poliwhirl greets the Professor and Kukui high fives it with a smile. Your eyes begin to wander, and you take notice of the desk full of computers next to a pile of stacked boxes and a Pokéball container similar to the ones you can in a Pokémon Center. Kukui strides over to the desk and connects your Pokédex to one of the computers with a wire. A window manifests on the screen, but you could barely comprehend what's stated on the software. 

"Now, I'll just transfer the information you have on here to..." his voice trails off, as he reaches for a bizarre-looking gadget. It looks like a blunt, red arrow with a screen with Buneary ears. "...This new Pokédex."

You frown. "So I won't be using my old one?" 

"Sadly, no. This one here is part of the new generation of Pokédexes. You can only register Alola-exclusive Pokémon with it." You try not to look too reluctant, as Kukui hands it to you. "What makes these babies special is that they won't work unless you've got a Rotom possessing them."

You crane your head. "Pardon?"

"You heard right, (Name). Now let me just..."

The professor reaches into the pocket of his lab coat for a Pokéball and releases whatever is inside. A Rotom buzzes into life once its freed from its ball.

"Hey, Rotom, I have a tasty Pokédex for you. Do you mind getting inside it?" 

"Zzzt! Zzzt!"

In a blink of an eye, Rotom merges with the new Pokédex and...

"Alola!"

You can only stare, dumbfounded, for a few moments before whispering to the professor, "It can  _talk_?"

Kukui hollers at your unveiled surprise. "As a matter of fact, it does. Rotom, meet (Name). She'll be your new partner from here on out."

Rotom floats over to you and smiles. "Mucho gusto, señorita! ¿Cómo estás?" 

"Whoops. I think I messed up the language drive a little." 

Nonetheless, you smile, before Kukui grabs the floating Rotom Dex to switch it off. "I'll just do a little tinkering. You can go look around while you wait, (Name)."

You nod and proceed to take a look at his collection of books, most of which are various volumes of Pokémon Moves and Movesets. Most of his material, as you deduce, are probably for his research, but then you come across a familiar, navy blue spine with the same silvery letters embossed on it. You grab the book from the shelf, and marvel at the letters printed on the cover. It never occurred to you that Kukui might own a copy of Whispers of the Soul. However, the words "Beyond the Bond" are printed underneath the main title. Confused, you flip it open to the foreword.

 

_Also known as the sequel to the first Whispers of the Soul installment. Where the first volume told about the experiences of various individuals regarding their own soul bonds, here we discuss what lies beyond meeting the soul yours was made for. What happens when the bond breaks over unprecedented situations, when your partner cheats, when your soulmate_

_dies?_

 

"(Name). It's done!" You shut the book out of surprise from Kukui sneaking behind you. Your heart is threatening to break out of your rib cage, and you're still a little bit thrown off with what you read. Why is the word "dies" separated from the whole preface? 

"Hey, what'cha got there?" The Professor peers over your shoulder. "Oh, Beyond the Bond, huh? I remember when I first read that. After I finished it, I ended up crying on my wife's lap for thirty minutes because I'm too damn scared to lose her, you know?" 

Your eyes lower down to the hardbound book, and that's when you only realize that your hands are shaking.

_So that's why the first book didn't tell me everything. There's a second book, goddamn it._

Kukui's brow arches. "You okay?"

You swallow the lump in your throat. "Yeah. Um, Professor, can I borrow this for a while?"

"Sure, cousin. Return it whenever you want. You wanna go ahead and check out your new Dex?" 

You nod before placing the book in your pack. There's more time to read it later. After, you follow Kukui over to his desk, where he shows you the Rotom Dex with glee. He switches it on, and the Dex buzzes to life.

"Nice to meet you, (Name)! How are you?" Rotom's mechanical voice rings in your ears. 

A smile manifests on your face. "I'm good, Rotom. Nice to meet you, too."

Kukui laughs. "There are only a few of these in the region, so consider yourself special! I've transferred your old data into your new Rotom Dex. Meaning, you can start registering new Pokémon whenever you like!"

Rotom proceeds to float over to you and smiles. "Let's go on an adventure!"

"He's oddly enthusiastic about this," you tell Kukui.

"Well, Rotom adapts to its owner's emotions. From the data you've given him, he probably detected the enthusiasm in your adventures."

"What, really?"

"Nah, I'm just kidding. By the way, there's still a bunch of stuff Professor Oak left with me. Do you have any plans for the day?" 

You contemplate for a while and think of the ice cream you left at the hotel. "Uh..."

"Professor Oak left you a gift all the way in Mount Lanakila, just so you know," he throws in some enticement in his words.

You rack your brain for any reason why Professor Oak might leave you a gift, but then you recall the phone call you shared with him the day before your departure to Alola. "Damn it. I told him he didn't need to..."

"You know the Professor," Kukui chortles. "Come on. I had a pretty hard time trying to track her down the first time."

"Track  _what_  down the first time?"

He grins. "You'll see." 

 

* * *

 

When Lance first told you about Alola, he painted a pretty vivid image of a tropical country in your mind, where it was hot and humid for the most part of the year. From what you've seen so far, Alola is pretty much that—hot and humid. But when the Charizard Glider that Kukui paged lands in front of the Pokémon Center at Mount Lanakila, you're suddenly thankful you're wearing Guzma's thick-textured sweatpants. The snow isn't too thick, but the temperature is surprising for Alola.

"When you go up there, it leads to the Pokémon League," Kukui explains while gesturing towards the manmade structure uphill. "You should go challenge the champion, sometimes. But we're not here for the Pokémon League, even if I so desperately want to see you battle it out. We're headed to the caves, cousin."  After that, he stalks towards a contraption at the edge of the cliff that looks like an elevator. With a shrug, you tail the Professor. 

Once the two of you are safely boarded on the platform, Kukui pulls the lever in the middle, and the elevator begins to descend. A slightly uncomfortable silence encompasses the two of you, and all of a sudden, you realize that, from the looks of it, you and Kukui aren't too far apart in terms of age. But since he holds the title Professor, you've been treating him just like any other Professor you've met. It shouldn't be strange, since you're doing it out of courtesy, but why are you so weirded out? If Kukui took notice of your unease, he doesn't show it and proceeds to stare into nothingness.

Hesitantly, you try to break the silence. "Um, professor—"

"You know you can call me Kukui, right?" 

"Err, Kukui, do you know Guzma?" Right after the words leave your mouth, you feel like your subconscious wants to punch you in the face.  _Of course he knows, Guzma, you dimwit. You should've asked a different question!_

He turns around with a knowing look. "We were basically childhood friends, yes. What brought this up?"

You lower your gaze, your shoes suddenly becoming more interesting. "No reason."

He smirks. "Do  _you_  know him?"

Alarm bells begin to ring in your head.  _He's on to you. He's on to you. **He's on to you.**_

"Uh, y-you could say that."

The elevator finally reaches the ground and when the metal rails lower, you and Kukui step off the platform. Up ahead, you could see the entrance to the cave, and something tells you that it's colder inside than it is here. 

"Don't think differently about Guzma alright?" Kukui says out of the blue. "He's not evil. He's just a good person who's been driven to do evil things. There's a difference."

Your brows furrow. "I know he was part of Team Skull, but I never assumed that he was evil, though. Are you truly evil if you're capable of repentance?"

There's a steep step at the entrance of the cave, and Kukui jumps down with grace. He holds out a hand to help you down, and you mimic the jump he just did with his support. Thankfully, you land safely. Before he heads inside, he turns to you and says, "Most people only see a person for the evil he's done instead of the good, it seems."

You agree in silence.

As you predicted, the cave itself is colder than the outside. You could almost see your breath each time you exhale. The rocks that form the cave itself are much lighter than you expected, and it's probably because of the drop in temperature. Water is dripping from the stalactites overhead, but you make no effort to evade the drops, and you can observe that Kukui is, too. The paths are winding, and you're pretty sure that you would have gotten lost here if you explored it on your own, but your companion seems to know all the crevices in this cave like the back of his hand. 

Kukui comes to an abrupt halt and turns around to face you. "How did you meet him? If you don't mind me asking."

For a moment, you panic, trying to think of reasons that sound convincing enough; I ran into him in the grocery store once; he used to tutor me in math class; his Golisopod and my Gyarados hit it off; I accidentally ruined his laundry; he let me borrow his sweatpants—

You shake your head. Kukui has been nothing but nice to you ever since you arrived in the region, so it's only fair for you to be honest with him. With a staggering breath, you tell him, "He's my—"

"Soulmate?"

"How'd you figure out?"

He shrugs. "I was always flustered whenever Burnett was mentioned when we first found out about our bond. You know, the budding stage."

" _The budding stage?_ "

"That part where you two are obviously into each other, but aren't exactly aware of your own boundaries and haven't established the foundations of your relationship yet," he explains coolly. "So, every time the soulmate is mentioned, you're a blushing mess."

"W-We're not in a relationship!"

"See what I mean?"

"Shut up!"

His laughter echoes through the ceiling. "Mentions of Guzma are super effective against you, it seems." 

"Move maniac!"

"Alright, alright. I'll cut it out. Let's get a move on, cousin," Kukui announces before he starts walking again.

As the two of you traverse deeper into the cave, you fill Kukui in on how you met Guzma. 

"There was a reception for Red and Blue's wedding at the hotel, right? You were there. Well, I kinda wasn't in the mood to party, so Lance and Clair left me behind at the hotel room. But just when I was about to go down to celebrate, I found this weird guy carrying a plastic bag full of Pokéballs. I kinda put two and two together and chased that thief around all the way to Heahea City. Turns out, that guy was with Guzma in Team Skull, and for some reason he called him Boss. That's weird. I know Guzma was part of Team Skull, and from the looks of it, he might even be high ranking, but he couldn't be the boss...right?"

Kukui holds in a laugh, and you nearly hit him for it. When he regains his composure, he says, "I don't know what Guzma aimed to get for not telling you that he  _was_  the boss of Team Skull, but I certainly find this entertaining."

Your eyes widen. " _Guzma_  is the boss of Team Skull?"

"Was," Kukui corrects. "Oh. We're here."

You also failed to realize that you've hit a dead end, but in this clearing, however, there's a sophisticated-looking container with a icy blue crystal inside. Kukui beckons you to retrieve it, and that, you do. 

The crystal is no bigger than the palm of your hand, but it's certainly cold to the touch. "Is this what Professor Oak wanted be to have?" you ask Kukui.

He grins. "Not exactly. But that's called Icium Z. It will help you tame the Professor's gift. Do you have any Pokémon with you that knows an ice type move?"

You ponder. "Dragonite knows Ice Beam."

"Good. Now place that Z-Crystal in your Z-Ring."

"My what in my _what?_ "

Kukui gapes at you. "Don't you have a Z-Ring? Didn't Hala give you one?"

You cast him a confused stare. "I haven't met Hala outside of Red and Blue's wedding."

"Oh, no."

"Why? So what if I don't have a Z-Ring? What's this ice crystal for anyway?"

As if on cue, a roar echoes in the walls of the cave, and it makes the hairs on your skin stand. You glance at Kukui, who looks as if the life has been drained from his face. You're about to ask him what the hell is going on, but then you hear another threatening roar. Your eyes dart around the place, trying to make sense of what you just heard, but at that moment, a huge figure flies right in front of you and Kukui, and lands on the ground with a shaking force.

It's unlike any dragon you've ever seen, but you're sure that it _is_ a dragon type. It's leaning more on the serpentine kind rather than the draconian kind. Its skin is a pale blue-green, and its completely pink eyes are regarding you and Kukui with viciousness. The reason why you can tell that this dragon is angry is because of its furrowed, yellow eyebrows. 

"Why does it look like my grandfather?" you whisper to Kukui.

He shoots you an unbelieving gaze. "We are being cornered by a Drampa and that's the first thing you tell me?"

"That thing's name is Drampa? Drampa, hmm... Drampa. Dragon, and grampa? It's a dragon grampa!"

The wild Drampa roars once more, probably not enjoying being called a dragon grampa. Kukui's eyes are practically pleading for you to shut up.

"Is this Professor Oak's gift?"

Kukui nods without taking his eyes off the dragon.

"Send him my thanks, will you, Kukui?" You smirk before grabbing a Pokéball from your pockets. "Go, Dragonite!"

Dragonite announces her presence with a roar of her own, and the look on her face hints that she's more than determined to battle now. You grin, and order your first attack. "Dragonite, Thunder Wave!"

But before she could even execute your command, Drampa let out a bloodcurdling shriek, and you could have sworn you went deaf for a second. Dragonite seems to have taken more damage than you did, since she's writhing on the floor with her hands covering her ears. Still disoriented, you're unable to see that the wild Pokémon is about to land another hit with Dragon Pulse.

Dragonite slams into the cave wall with a grunt, and you yell out, "No!"

But the Drampa is ruthless, it seems. Without waiting for your Dragonite to recover, it shoots another Dragon Pulse right at her face, along with a Dragonbreath. Dragonite becomes paralyzed on the spot, and you can only watch in fear as your precious Pokémon gets beaten up. Dread is sinking its claws into your skin, and for some reason you can't find your voice. This is the very first time you've encountered a dragon this aggressive, and you're more or less terrified. Not even Salamence was this ferocious. 

"Don't just stand there, (Name)!" Kukui snaps you out of your trance. You turn around to see that he's no longer cowering like he was earlier. "There's a reason Professor Oak wanted you to have this Drampa! He believes only you can tame it."

"Lance would have handled this better. He's the Indigo League champion!" 

"But you're a dragon master, too, aren't you? You can handle all the dragons of all the regions you've set foot on. Now are you really going to start chickening out now, huh, cousin?"

You shut your eyes for a moment and force yourself to breathe. When you open them, you yell, "Ice Beam!"

Drampa cries out in pain and is sent flying to the other side of the clearing. When you look more closely, you can see that his right wing is covered in ice. Feeling more confident in yourself, you command, "Dragonite, Dragon Rush!"

She obeys at a breakneck speed upon getting over the paralysis. Dragonite slams into Drampa's side with a terrifying force, causing the cave wall to crack. Deciding to give Drampa a taste of her own medicine, you don't spare her the time to recover, and instead, you tell Dragonite to use Thunder Wave once more. Instantly, Drampa is being subdued by the static electricity. You're about to congratulate your Dragonite for doing a good job, until Kukui taps your shoulder. You turn around to see him handing you an Ultra Ball. 

"She's all yours, cousin," he grins.

You accept the ball gingerly and toss it at the paralyzed Drampa. The ball moves once, twice, and then you finally caught that beast of a dragon. Dragonite cheers and stomps over to you to give you a hug. You laugh and return her embrace with equal fervor. When she puts you down, you walk over to the Ultra Ball on the cave floor, and marvel at it. 

"Drampa, the placid Pokémon!" you nearly jump upon hearing Rotom's voice echoing in the cave walls. "It has a compassionate personality, but if it is angered, it completely destroys its surroundings with its intense breath." 

"Huh. That explains a lot," you snigger before letting her out.

Still weakened, Drampa does not roar at you, but instead, regards you with what you assume is respect. You take that her not-furrowed eyebrows are a green light, so you smile and walk over to her, petting her mane. "Welcome to the team, Drampa." 

You pet her for a little while longer, clearly enjoying the feel of her soft fur against your skin, but that's until you realize something...

"Hey, Kukui."

"What?"

"If this Drampa is female... Shouldn't she be called Dranma? 'Cause, y'know, dragon granma?"

"......"

"I'm serious."

"That's enough wild Pokémon catching for today, (Name)."

"Come on, that was a legitimate question! Hey, Kukui? Why are you walking away? You know I'm not familiar with this cave, right? Kukui? You're really walking away, aren't you? You're leaving me here to die, _aren't you?_ Oi, Kukui! Get back here!"

 

* * *

 

"Shit, what happened to him?"

"According to my intel, some witnesses saw him pass out with a nosebleed at the Thrifty Megamart, Mister Gladion."

"For what reasons?"

"We're still monitoring his condition, sir. We're not yet certain..."

"What about the girl?"

"What girl, sir?"

"Goddamn it, the one he donated his blood to!"

"M-Mister Guzma donated his blood to another person?!"

"Ah, man. That idiot didn't even bother telling you guys? Didn't Wicke disseminate that information beforehand?"

"No, sir."

"What is happening to all of you, honestly. Faba!"

"Yes, sir Gladion?"

"Has Guzma ever mentioned a soulmate to you?"

"No he hasn't, sir."

"Well, get onto it and find out who it is. When you do, page me a Charizard. It's about time the girl found out what she's in for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it, folks. Some reader-kukui bonding, and oh-shit guzma passed out in the thrifty megamart? WHY??? Also, this story is almost reaching 200 kudos and I am so pumped!! Thank you for all the support and appreciation you all have shown me so far. ~~And if y'all noticed my attempt at comedy over there, I am sorry I like gintama a lot and kind of adapted their kind of humour~~. 
> 
> By the way, for anyone that's interested, I'm working on a oneshot entitled "Call off the Dogs". It's ~~of course~~ a Guzma reader insert wherein the reader adopts a Lycanroc (Guzma) and chaos ensues. 
> 
> You guys know the drill -- comments, kudos, and anything else are appreciated <3


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